Supernatural Season 13 Episodes in Story Form: 1 to 10, 13 to 15, 19
by pastann
Summary: The episodes in story form, with minor canon divergence and fix-its. Episode 1: Lost and Found. Sam talks to the nephilim, Jack. Dean bursts in and raises his gun... Episode 2: Rising Son. A new King of Hell. Mary and Lucifer in the alternate universe. Sam, Dean, and Jack continue to the Bunker... Episode 3: Patience. A woman is murdered by a monster ... Sam gets a call.
1. Lost and Found

**The Road So Far: (random scenes)**

Lucifer is back. A nephilim coming into being. Kelly Kline saying: I can feel it inside me. Quick flashbacks of Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary, Kelly Kline, Claire, and others from Season 12.

Song: Metallica, Nothing Else Matters.

 **NOW:**

In the room in the house where Kelly Kline gave birth last season, Sam slowly approaches the nephilim. The teenager stares back at Sam with glowing eyes.

"Father?" the nephilim asks in a surprisingly tentative voice. He stands up to suspenseful music.

The scene cuts to outside of the house. Dean kneels over the body of Castiel. He stares a long time at the body. He takes Castiel's angel blade from the ground. He looks at the blade, and it merges into his arm, and then he gets up with a determined look.

Back in the house, Sam says, "I'm not your father … Jack... I'm a friend ... of Castiel and I know your mother."

"Father!" the nephilim calls out.

"Sam!" Dean says loudly as he slams the door. "Sammy!"

"I'm in here," Sam says quickly.

Dean bursts into the room, bringing up a gun. Sam says, "No!" but it's too late. Dean fires.

The nephilim opens his mouth and screams. A shockwave sphere ripples outward and lifts Sam and Dean into the air and holds them. The windows in the second story of the house shatter. The shockwave batters the two hunters, then flings them against the walls of the room, knocking them unconscious.

The bright gold light fades from the nephilim's eyes.

 **SUPERNATURAL**

 _Sam and Dean face Lucifer in front of the rift to the other world, which is in the sky above the bedroom where Kelly gave birth to Jack._

 _Mary strides up on the rooftop. "Get away from them!"_

" _Mary, right? Look, seriously, I just wanted to say thank you, for everything," Lucifer says in a dry, humorous voice. "I owe you," he points at Mary._

 _Behind her back, Mary activates British Men of Letters magic brass knuckles._

" _I love you," she says to her boys, then steps forward. Before she can reach Lucifer, she turns around, confused, as flames lick at her feet. She turns into fire, as Dean shouts, "Mom!" Suddenly, Mary is burning on the ceiling in her white nightdress._

 **Dean wakes up from the dream.**

It's morning. Sam and Dean are sprawled against the walls. Sunlight comes into the room. Dean checks his gun. "Sammy!"

Sam wakes up with a grunt and shuffles himself into a sitting position.

"What was that….?" Dean says.

Sam sits, shivering, against the wall. "I don't know. It may be a special power he has as Lucifer's son. Did Cas tell you what the other nephilim was like, the one he and Metatron killed?"

"No." Dean gets up.

"Agh," Sam says, pressing his head, then he gets up too. They head outside into the sunlight.

Sam trails behind Dean.

Dean wipes blood off his mouth. "Let's hope he doesn't have wings."

 **Pirate Pete's Jolly Treat:**

The scene flashes to the bare feet of the nephilim, walking over dry ground carpeted by dead, brown pine needles. He's a brown-haired kid.

He sees a pirate-themed restaurant: Pirate Pete's Jolly Treats.

Inside the clean, fast-food style diner, a cheerful and sanitary white with blue trim, a chubby red-haired young man is deep-frying food with a wire basket. "First batch is down…."

The other worker is wearing the store shirt, and changing the names of food on the menu into names like Cheese Bum, Quarter Pound Buttocks, and Salty Buttsex Combo.

"Check it," the dark-haired guy says.

"Check what?" the responsible guy says, as he walks around the counter.

"This! Can I interest you in cheese bum, or maybe…a salty buttsex combo." He wraps an arm around the other guy. "Perhaps a, buttshake."

The responsible guy walks away, giving the goof-off a look. "We're opening in ten. Dave says he's gonna fire you."

"Oh come on, he says he's gonna fire me, like seven times. And I keep coming back, you know why?" he smiles with sharp teeth.

"Uh, because Dave's banging your mom?"

"Exactly, so let's face it, around here, I'm untouchable."

"Cool, good for you," the guy says, but he doesn't mean it.

"Father?" the nephilim's voice comes from outside.

"Yo, we're not open yet," the irresponsible guy says.

"Father!" the nephilim calls loudly.

"Woah," David says. The two coworkers stare at the naked guy outside.

"I think you should call your mom," the responsible coworker says.

The scene changes to a police station. A woman carrying a mug that says: North Cove Sheriff answers the phone. "Hi baby…. How naked?" she asks in a disapproving voice.

The scene changes to the impala speeding cinematically on a road, above a body of water.

"You still have holy oil, right?" Dean asks.

"What?" Sam asks.

"We're gonna have to hit him with everything we got," Dean says.

"Hold on a second. Can we just talk about what happened back there?"

"Sure, which part?" Dean asks. "Crowley's dead, Kelly's dead, Cas is…. Mom's gone. And apparently the devil's kid hit puberty in about thirty seconds flat. Oh and, almost killed us."

"Because you tried to shoot him," Sam says.

"I tried to shoot the monster, Sam" Dean says. "It's what we do."

"No, we save people. And I don't know what he is yet, but if there's a chance he's good, we need to take it. And I had it under control," Sam say emphatically.

"So are you defending the son of Satan?" Dean says aggressively.

"I'm not defending anything! I'm just saying, with everything that's happened, I'm obviously spun out, but we need a plan."

"Yeah! I have a plan. Kill him!" Dean says. "Right now, all that matters is finding him and ending him before he hurts anybody else. And once we do that, we'll figure everything else out."

"What about Cas?" Sam asks. "Is he really dead?"

"Yeah." Dean says.

Back at Pirate Pete's, the sheriff's truck rolls up. The dark-haired female sheriff comes. The naked nephilim is staring at the brightly painted, wood statue of Pirate Pete.

"Uh, hi," the woman says. She has her hand on her gun, but it's still in the holster. She exchanges a look with her son inside the fast food store.

"Easy, easy now," the sheriff says, putting up her hands. In the background, a boat is lifted up, maybe for repairs. "I'm just .. My name's Christine Barker, I'm a sheriff. I'm here to help okay?" She smiles and drops her hands. "Okay?"

The nephilim looks at her curiously.

 **The house:**

The scene changes to a table, where Castiel is lying. A man in a suit draws back the sheet covering his face. A woman walks down stairs to join him.

"Is that….?" the woman asks.

"Castiel," the man answers. "Always knew he'd meet a bad end."

"He deserved better," the woman says.

"No, he didn't," the man says.

"The body of the mother is upstairs but she-

"I don't care about the broodmare," the man interrupts rudely. "Where's the child?"

"Gone," the woman says.

"Of course he is," the man says. The man roughly snaps the sheet over Castiel's head and leaves. The woman watches him.

 **The Sheriff's Office:**

The scene jumps again. A male sheriff backs up to stand level with Christine Barker, watching the nephilim in clothes.

"So weird," the guy says.

The nephilim is staring at his arm as if he's never seen clothes before.

"Why don't you head out on patrol, Earl," Christine says sharply. "And by the way," she puts her hand on his back. "There's no such thing as weird. Everyone's normal in their own way."

"Right," Earl says quickly, looking back at the nephilim. "Sorry sheriff."

The nephilim is looking more closely at his arm.

The Sheriff's son is staring at Jack. Jack wiggles his feet in his shoes. "Totally normal," the kid says sarcastically.

Christine huffs, annoyed.

"Hope those are alright!" she says in a forcedly cheery voice. "Just pulled some stuff from the lost and found." The nephilim is wearing a grey sweatshirt, shorts, and flip flops.

She hands Jack a water bottle. "Here, take a seat."

"Sit," she says again, when Jack doesn't do anything.

"Okay, Jack, where're parents? Your mother, or father, whoever's taking care of you?"

Jack flashes back to Kelly Kline's face. "My mother, she's in Heaven. My father, he was supposed to be here, but he's not. I'm trying to find him. I have to find him," his face scrunches up in a naturally angry look that might not mean anything.

"Sure, we can do that," the sheriff answers. "What's his phone number?"

Jack just sits there.

"What about an address, or an email." When he says nothing, the sheriff says in an annoyed tone, "Is there anything you do remember, Jack?" as she puts on a glove.

"I remember when the bad woman burned," Jack says. "I remember the universe screamed. I remember picking my father."

The annoying kid from the diner clears his throat and circles his finger by his ear in a 'the guy's crazy' sign.

The sheriff gives him an annoyed look and says, "Okay! I'm gonna take your prints and we're gonna run it through the system. We get a match and we get you home, yeah?"

She takes his hand, "Just relax, the ink blotches if it's on too thick and we can't get a good print if it's too light." She presses his thumb into an inkpad, and rolls his thumb over the fingerprint card, and the same with the rest of his fingers, and his other hands. "Okay," she says, staring at the card. The fingerprints of the nephilim are blurred. She blinks. "Hmm," she says.

"You stay, here. I'll be right back," she says and leaves the room.

The nephilim looks closely at his inky fingers.

"Dude, how high are you?" the kid from the diner asks.

Jack furrows his brow and sits down. "I don't know what that means," he says.

"Well, it means wasted, lit. Chonged, blitzed, blasted, baked. Look, I'm not judging you. I'm just sayin, I'm kinda jealous. What are you on?"

"I'm sitting on a chair," the nephilim says.

The kid takes a breath, and you don't know if he might be angry or not, and then he says, "You are so stoned, man!" and scratches his neck.

"No, I'm not stoned. I'm…"

"What?" the kid asks.

The nephilim's stomach growls. "...Hungry," the nephilim says. "I'm hungry."

 **Pirate Pete's Again:**

The scene changes to the Impala, rolling up to Pirate Pete's diner.

"Well," Dean turns off the engine. "Do you really think Lucifer's son's at Pirate Pete's Jolly Treats? That he was like, what, before I destroy the world, let me grab a bag of curly fries."

"Look," Sam says sharply, "If he would have kept to the main road, he would have walked past it, and .. I dunno…"

"Fiiiinnnne, just make it quick," Dean says.

"You're not coming?" Sam asks.

"No! Look, maybe you're right, maybe the devil's kid is in there just hanging out, okay? Or maybe he's halfway across the country torching Chicago. I'm gonna call Jody, check in, see if she can't help us put a nationwide APB on a creepy Satanic nudist."

"Right," Sam says softly and gets out of the car.

"Right is not the word I would use," Dean states.

In the diner: "Riiiiight," the dark-haired customer at the counter says.

"Roberta, seriously, we don't have fries," the hard-working guy at the counter says. "It's breakfast-only until 11. But like I've said three times already, hashbrowns are basically the same."

The heavily made-up woman in a jean jacket over a tiger-skin dress, leans over the counter, "Oooh, fiiiiine!" she moans. "Hash browns."

The guy quickly fills a container with hash browns and the woman slides a credit card on the counter. The door to the diner opens.

"Welcome to Pirate Pete's Jolly Treats! Arrrr!" the guy says to Sam. He sets the hash browns in front of the woman. "How can I help you?" He slots the credit card into a reader.

"He wants fries," the woman cuts in. "We all want fries."

"Shut up!" the guy suppresses his snarl.

The scene jumps to Dean, finishing his call with Jody on a flip phone. He gets out of the car.

The scene jumps back to the diner. "Ignore her," the counter guy says. "She's drunk off her ass."

"Lil bit," the woman says, holding up her fingers to measure the distance.

Sam eyes her, then talks to the counter guy. "Uh, okay, I'm looking for a young guy, he's about your height," Sam holds up his hand, "brown hair, and um…possibly naked…"

"Hah," the woman says. "You and me both."

"What'd I say? I'm going to call Lee," the counter guy threatens.

"Sorry," the woman says, playfully pretending to be set back.

"And yeah, I saw him," the counter guy says. "The sheriff took him down to the station."

The scene changes: The phone rings at the sheriff's office. The sheriff takes her time, "North Cove Sheriff's Department, Barker speaking"

Sam says: "This is Agent Berry from the FBI ... did you happen to pick up a naked kid earlier today?"

"Yeah, he's here at the station," the sheriff says. "Says he's looking for his father."

"Great. His name's Jack. He's a victim in a trafficking case and was drugged. Hold him until I get there." Sam says.

Outside the sheriff's office, a light explodes. "Holy shit!" The sheriff glances out her office window, but her son and Jack are missing. She gets up and looks through the window, but doesn't see them.

"What is it?" Sam asks.

"A light blew out. I'll hold him," the Sheriff says.

"Thanks," Sam says.

The scene changes again:

Outside Pirate Pete's, Dean fiddles with the Impala's keys. His knuckles are bloody. He walks past the drunk woman, who's sitting outside eating her sticks of McDonald's style hash brown from a bag.

"Woah, what happened to your hand?" the woman asks.

Dean walks past her and says, "Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing," the woman says, following him. "I heard you praying. You found God yet?"

Dean turns to face the woman before she reaches baby. He turns on a bit of charm. "Already found him. He's a dick." He makes to turn away, but the woman keeps on talking.

Sam comes out of the diner, fiddling with his phone.

"Ya know, freshman year, I had this roommate. Andrea," the woman snorts. "Had this giant poster of Elsa, you know, from Frozen. I mean, first, who bring something like that to college!"

"You done?" Dean says. Sam comes up to them, looks a Dean's knuckles and the woman. Sam opens up the trunk and pulls out a bottle of whiskey.

"Anyway, Haley was, and i say this in the most feminist through the patriarchy way, a giant superbitch. Takes things, break things, and piss people off, do whatever she wanted no matter who it hurts."

Sam hands the bottle to Dean, who takes a swig. Sam glares at him. Dean pours a little whiskey over his bloody knuckles.

"Mmm, so you punched her poster?" Dean says.

The woman nods sharply, "...and lit most of her stuff on fire." The woman shrugs off Dean's look. "I got issues!" Sam glances between the two.

"You got anything?" Dean asks shortly.

"Yeah," Sam says. "North Cove Sheriff's office." He has the map open on his phone and gives the woman a professional smile.

"Good," Dean says, opening the car door. "Let's go." They ignore the woman's suspicious look.

 **The Sheriff's Office:**

The sheriff walks back in her room, holding a case of light bulbs. A ladder is leaning against the wall in the front officer. The lights flicker and go out, leaving the office in the dark.

"Shit," she says. She takes a flashlight out of her pocket and turns it on.

The lights flicker and turn back on.

She huffs and puts the flashlight away.

"Clark! You messing with the power?"

She stares down the hallway, then slowly walks forward into the flickering light. She hears a noise, and distant menacing laughter. She unsnaps her holster and puts her hand on the hilt of her gun. She creeps to a door where light shows through the glazed window.

She opens the door. Jack and her son are sitting on the floor eating junk food and candy. Piles of wrappers litter the floor.

"Hey mom," her son says.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, um, Jack was just hungry," he laughs. "I don't think he's ever had candy before."

"I like it, I like nougat," Jack says evilly.

"He really does," her son says with a laugh.

"Don't eat too much of that junk food. Did you see, there's something wrong with the power," Sheriff Barker says.

"Uh huh, it's uh," the son says with a smirk. "It's crazy. Show her the uhn thing."

Jack grins, gets up, puts his hand on the vending machine in the snack room, and with a whir, a couple rows of candy bars fall down. The lights flicker.

"Yeah, dude's uh. Maaaaagiic," Clark rolls on his back with laughter.

Jack takes out the candy bars.

"Jack, uh, how did you do that?" the sheriff asks.

"I don't know," Jack says simply. "I just did."

A high pitched whine makes Jack drop the candy bars. His eyes glow. He staggers into the vending machine.

"Jack, are you okay?"

"I don't … I have to…" He staggers pash the sheriff and her son.

"Just wait," she puts her hand on his shoulder.

Jack lightly backhands her. She flies with a pulse of his power and smashes into the vending machine.

"Mom!" the son rushes to her.

Jack winces as another high-pitched whine pierces his head. Lights explode as he staggers through the police station. He cowers on the floor. "Father!"

Outside, Dean parks the car. "That was fast," he says as he gets out of the car. Sam puts his phone away. They notice the lights and walk inside with guns drawn. They converge on the nephilim.

"Hey … Jack," Sam says, putting an arm around the kid.

Dean and Sam exchange a look and Dean heads down the hallway, unknowingly tracing the sheriff's steps.

He enters the break room. He and the Sheriff face each other with guns drawn.

Dean says, "Agent Berry, FBI," and slowly puts his weapon away.

"What?" the sheriff says.

"Agent Berry. What happened here?" Dean says.

Clark looks between Dean and his mom.

"You're Agent Berry?" the sheriff asks disbelievingly.

Dean looks taken aback. He slowly moves his hand to his pocket. "My ID."

"Yeah," the sheriff says, holstering her weapon after she looks at it and hands it back to Dean. "Right, so…that trafficking vic… he-"

The scene changes to the smartass woman from Pirate Pete's and the two angels, standing at the back door of the jail.

The smartass giggles drunkenly. "Go on, open it."

The woman angel rips the door off the hinges.

"I found God and it's good," she laughs to herself, and swaggers into the jail.

A short way down the hall, inside the break room, Dean, Clark, and the sheriff hear the noise. Dean and the sheriff draw their guns. The sheriff jerks her head at Clark, and he retreats to a corner of the break room.

The figures enter the room.

"Betty," Clark says in relief, stepping forward. "Get out of here. I'll call Branson, and Branson will call Pastor Lee," he smirks.

The smartass steps up and grabs Clark, putting an angel blade at his throat.

"Woah! What? What are you on?" he gasps.

"I found God," the smartass says. "Now, where's the naked guy? He got a visitation from heavenly high rollers and they don't take no for an answer."

Clark eyes his mom. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The two angels silently leave the doorway and disappear into the dark hallway.

Dean draws Cas' angel blade and holsters his gun.

"You'd better answer, or I'm gonna cash in your chips," the woman says.

Clark kicks backward at the woman's legs. In her tippy high heels, she stumbles and Clark tries to shove her away. The smartass falls, sprawling on the ground, then her eyes glow blue. She flips onto her feet and grabs Clark again.

The sheriff says. "Drop the weapon, Betty."

In the front room, Sam holds Jack almost in his lap. Jack's eyes glow with a gold ring. He clutches his head, then stumbles upright.

Sam scrambles up, "Jack…"

The two angels appear.

Sam steps in front of Jack.

The scene jumps to the break room.

Betty smirks, "It's not just Betty in here. Not anymore. I don't know what he's told you. Some line about how he and his brother save the world, or they're FBI agents," she sneers, and the sheriff's eyes flick to Dean, "but he's lying. He's not a hero. He's a monster. He take things and break things and piss people off and just does whatever he want, no matter who it hurts. Also, you're a giant super bitch," Betty says.

"Well, it takes one to know one," Dean says charmingly. "Which angel are you carrying?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she says. "So yeah, you're Haley. And Haley needs to die."

In the front, the male angel's eyes shine, "He's here, we have the boy."

The cocky, street-smart woman in the break room hears him over angel radio. She drives her blade into Clark's stomach and shoves him. He falls on the floor.

"No!" the sheriff cries.

"Too late," the smart-ass angel smirks at Dean and the sheriff.

Dean charges the smartass and pushes her into the hallway.

In front, Sam punches the woman angel but she just turns her head.

In the break room, the sheriff drags her son away as Dean tries to stab the smartass.

In the front, the woman angel backhands Sam. He rolls over a desk.

In the hallway, Dean and the smartass continue to fight, facing off with their angel blades.

In the jail, the male angel jumps over the desk and kicks Sam in the side. The female angel handles Jack and he follows her passively.

In the break room, the sheriff calls for help. "This is Barker. I need an ambulance and backup at the station. Three shooters."

"Copy that," the man's voice says.

In the hallway, Dean crosses blades with the smartass. A flicker of blue lights up her eyes and travels from her hand into Dean's eyes. Dean drops the knife and pulls her into a kiss.

"Get off, creep!" The smartass says, spinning around and staggering back into the break room.

The sheriff patches her son up with a first aid kit. "Put pressure!" One eye follows the weird fight between Dean and the smartass.

"Ahh!" her son moans.

The smartass shoves a table in front of Dean, then hits him with a coat rack. It breaks and she throws the piece away comedically.

In the front, the male angel kicks Sam until blood comes out of his mouth. The female angel takes Jack, who is moaning and clutching his head, and the male angel follows. They escort him out the front door.

"Hey," Sam says.

The angels turn around.

There's an enochian symbol drawn with blood on the floor. Sam presses his hand on the enochian symbol. It lights up and the two angels in the room are blown away.

Jack collapses. The high-pitched ringing stops and light stops crawling on Jack's neck.

"Jack!" Sam says, rushing to him.

In the break room, breaks an emergency box and grabs a fire extinguisher. Her angel blade is back in her sleeve. "Don't make me use this!"

The blue fades from Dean's eyes. He asks roughly, "What are you doing?"

"We want the Golden Ticket," the smartass says. "Lucifer 2. The electric boogaloo."

"Why?"

"Because Bieber in there, can do almost anything."

"Anything?" Dean asks.

"Almost anything," the woman smirks. "Even make a cupid's love victims ... into a brand new kind of angel. Lucky me." She swings the fire extinguisher at Dean, smashes him, and he grunts and pretends to go down, but his eyes open as she walks away.

The smartass woman angel enters the front room. Sam tries to push Jack behind him, but Jack balks and stays still.

"Don't," Sam warns her.

"Or what?" she says scornfully.

"Stay away from Jack," Sam says.

"You're right," the smartass says, "I'll just-" she sidesteps Sam and grabs Jack. Looming behind her is Dean. Dean stabs her, and her angel blade slips into Jack as she falls, and before Sam reacts.

The smartass woman angel dies.

Jack looks sick and pulls the angel blade out of his chest. He gives the blade to Sam. "I'm okay, my father's friend. He is bad," Jack says as he looks at Dean.

Sam curls an arm around Jack. "No, Dean. Listen, Jack, Dean shoots first and thinks later, but he's my brother and I love him. He's not going to hurt you," Sam glares at Dean.

Dean gives Sam a hurt and annoyed look.

"What happened back there?" Sam asks.

"Angel lady stabbed a guy," Dean says. "Sheriff called for backup."

"Clark," the nephilim says.

"Do you know him?" Sam prompts.

"Yes, we ate candy," the nephilim says.

"Let's go back there," Sam says.

The scene jumps a little to Sam, Dean, Jack, and the sheriff surrounding Clark.

Sam and Jack crouch by Clark. "Can you heal him?" Sam asks.

The nephilim doesn't speak, but reaches a hand out to the wound on Clark's stomach. A ring of gold light glows in his eyes and travels down his arm onto the wound. Clark is healed.

Clark gasps as he feels his stomach and draws back his shirt to see that his uninjured stomach. "Oh man, I must be so baked. Mom, I swear I'm never doing LSD before work again, mom, I swear."

Jack smiles a kind smile for the first time, and Sam face lightens.

The sheriff's eyes Clark and then Jack, and Sam and Dean.

"We need to talk," Dean says.

"Yeah," the sheriff says.

"Vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, gods, they're all real. They don't act like fairy tale monsters, but they walk the earth and kill people. We're hunters. And we kill them."

"Monsters and hunters," the sheriff says.

"Mmm," Dean says.

"Like…" the sheriff says.

"...a horror movie," Dean says.

"Mmm hmm."

"Like that," Dean says.

"So what are you, some kind of super heroes?" the sheriff asks.

Dean looks smug, then false humbles, "We're just guys doing a job."

The sheriff nods.

"And Jack, he's not a human trafficking victim..."

"No," Dean says.

The sheriff hauls Clark up and onto a chair. "Thank you for saving my son."

Jack just stares at her, but he smiles a non-evil grin.

"What is he?" she asks.

"Jack's a nephilim," Sam says. "Child of an angel and a human."

Clark stares up at the people talking.

"I'm sorry I hit you. I … I was scared. And when I get scared, things happen. I can't stop them," Jack says.

The sheriff looks at him warily. She reaches out to pat his shoulder, but stops herself. She nods. "I understand."

"Jack, why were you scared?" Sam asks.

"Because of the voices. They were so loud … so…. angry."

"Do you hear them right now?" Sam asks.

"No," the nephilim says.

"Good," Sam says in relief.

The nephilim abruptly sits on a chair next to Clark and smiles at him.

Sam sits next to them. "Jack, you're not even a day old. How do you know English?"

Jack smiles. "Mother taught me."

"How did she teach you?" Sam asks. Dean and the sheriff look at Sam and Jack and then at each other.

"I was her," Jack says. "And I was father."

"Okay," Sam takes a deep breath. "And your powers, did your parents teach you those too?"

Jack looks away. "No, I don't know why these things happen." He looks at Clark and tries to touch the guy's stomach.

"Woah, woah!" Clark fends him off. "Once was enough…. Thanks, man."

"Jack," Sam says. "Right before you were born, you opened a door to another world. Do you remember that?"

The sheriff eyes Sam and Jack.

"Yes," Jack says.

"Our mother, she's trapped there. Could you open the door again?" Sam asks.

"I don't .. um, … I have to find my father. He'll protect me and teach me," Jack says.

"Jack. You gotta listen to me, that's not really what Lucifer does," Sam emotes.

"Lucifer," Jack says contemptuously. "No, my father is Castiel," Jack says proudly. "I picked him."

"What?" Sam say sharply.

"My mother, she said Castiel, he would keep me safe. She said the world's a dangerous place. That's why I couldn't be a baby or a child. I .. that's why I had to grow up fast. That's why I chose him to be my father," he says, very literally and awkwardly.

Sam looks at the nephilim.

"Where is he?" The nephilim demands.

Sam looks at Dean. Dean says, "He's dead."

The scene changes. Jack and Sam sit on a bench in the sunlight outside of the sheriff's station. Officers bustle in the station, talking to Sheriff Barker.

Sam walks to Dean, who is sitting on the Impala's hood.

"So apparently, he can take an angel blade to the heart and keep on tickin'," Dean says.

"Yeah," Sam says.

Dean shakes his head. "He turned that woman into an angel."

"What?!" Sam says.

"Yeah, a new kind of angel. Her eyes glowed blue when she whammied me." Dean looks at Sam. "It didn't last."

"Listen, I think we should take him with us. I know what you're gonna say-"

"Yeah," Dean says.

"What?" Sam says.

"I agree," Dean says again.

"So… you changed your mind?" Sam says.

"No, no nothing's changed. He's still the Devil's kid. He still brainwashed Kelly and Cas and even if he hasn't gone big bad yet, he will."

"You don't know that," Sam says. "He cured Clark."

"Yeah, I know he's going to turn out bad," Dean says. "'Cause when have things ever gone right for us? So until I figure out a way to End him, we'll bring him home. At least there, the only people he can hurt are you and me." Dean walks away.

Jack glances at them, as if, maybe, he could hear them speaking.

 **The house:**

The scene changes.

The impala rolls to a stop in front of the house where Jack was born. Dean and Sam get out, and Dean goes to the trunk. The nephilim gets out of the back seat more slowly.

"Hey," Sam says, following Dean to the trunk. "Hey, you uh, you sure about this? I mean, it's, it's Cas you know? Maybe we can bring him back, like you said."

"No we can't," Dean says.

"Chuck did, God did. Remember that?" Sam says. "So I dunno, maybe if we prayed to him or or-"

"You don't think I've tried that?" Dean asks as the nephilim watches them.

The scene flashes back to Dean - outside of Pirate Pete's diner. _He gets out of the car, but instead of going inside, stands uncertainly near a corner of the building, and starts to pray._

" _Okay, Chuck, or God or whatever, I .. I need your help. See you … you left us. You went off. You said, you said the Earth would be fine, because it had me and it had Sam, but it's not. And we're not. We've lost everything. And now you're gonna bring him back. You're gonna bring back Cas. You're gonna bring back mom, you're gonna bring them all back. All of them. Even Crowley. Cause after everything you've done, you owe us, you son of a bitch. So you get your ass down here and you make this right. Right here and right now," he demands, angrily._

 _Dean opens his eyes._

 _Nothing changes._

 _He turns uncomfortably in a circle, not knowing what to do._

 _He punches the Pirate Pete sign off the door. "Please," Dean looks up at the sky. "Please help us."_

 _Nothing._

 _He exhales shakily and walks back to the car, fiddling with his keys._

The flashback ends.

"God's not listening," Dean says. "He doesn't give a damn," and slams the trunk, hatchet in hand, walking away from the house where Jack was born.

Inside the house, Sam and Jack enter a bedroom. Jack looks at Sam, approaches the bed, and tentatively touches Kelly Kline's toes through the sheet. "Mom," he says, crying.

The scene changes. Dean enters the house, approaching a different body. He flips open the sheet. Castiel is lying on the table. Dean takes down a curtain, rips the cloth and wraps Castiel up.

The scene changes to evening. Jack and Sam watch as Dean sloshes accelerant onto cloth-wrapped bodies on a pyre.

"...What do we do?" Jack asks.

"Right," Sam whispers, then he says firmly. "You say thank you, and you say you're sorry. You tell them how much they meant to you, because that's how sad you are, that they're gone, and you'll never see them again, you'll never ask for their help and count on them to help you, and you'll never return the favor. You know that they're somewhere without sadness or pain or joy and you know that one day you'll join them. You say goodbye and you make your peace with it," Sam swallows his grief.

Dean sets the red plastic jug of gasoline down.

The three look at the pyre where Castiel and Kelly Kline are laid, by the water.

"Goodbye Cas. Goodbye Kelly. Goodbye Crowley," Dean says. "Goodbye Mom."

"Dean … we don't know that Mom's dead-" Sam says.

"Yeah, she is," Dean cuts him off. "Lucifer killed her, for kicks, the moment he realized we trapped him. He killed her, you know he did. You know that's the best we can hope for."

Sam glances at his brother in grief, and shakes his head.

"She's gone. They're all gone," Dean looks haunted and old, and his eyes are stark. He flicks a packet of matches, and throws it at the bottom of the pyre.

The pyre lights and quickly catches into a fire with a billowing cloud of smoke. They watch as the smoke rises over the water, and the sun sets.

 **In the alternate universe past the rift:**

Meanwhile, Mary runs downs a hill in the colorless land.

"Hey," Lucifer says, suddenly standing in front of her, and strikes her across the face.

She falls to the sand.

"So, you thought you could run away … from me," Lucifer mocks. He grabs her by the shirt and picks her up. "You know I can fly," he gloats.

"So what now?" Mary says in her understated way. "You kill me," she says, almost hopefully.

Lucifer takes a long look at her. "Sure," he throws her and she stumbles to a stop on the sand, almost pierced on a weapon poking out of the dead earth.

Lucifer comes up behind her and whispers in her ear. "Or maybe not, maybe … maybe I need you, to break the spell holding me here," he says creepily.

Mary's shoulders heave in subdued resignation.

The End.

What do you think of the changes?


	2. Rising Son

Season 13, Episode 2: the rising sun, in story format with minor canon divergence.

 **Teaser:** flashbacks to Season 12 and the previous episode.

 **NOW:**

 **Hell's Throne Room.**

A thin demon in a suit, carrying a bottle in one hand, staggers across the throne room of Hell and speaks to a demon standing next to the throne with his arms crossed. "Protecting the throne, Drexel? Face it, we're done." He holds out the clear glass bottle, which Drexel ignores, then he drinks.

Drexel looks away with a scoff.

The thin demon staggers off the dais.

In boyish voice, Drexel says, "Lord Lucifer promised he would return. I have faith."

The thin bearded demon has turned around and leans against a table. "Do you even hear yourself?"

Electricity crackles. The demons in the throne room look around, startled.

Drexel takes out a cloth and dusts the seat of the throne with a self-satisfied smirk.

The doors to the throne room swing open. A bearded man with a faint resemblance to Cain, appears in a white suit, like Lucifer's suit in the Endverse. He saunters into the room. "On. Your. Feet."

Demons rise up as he walks past.

"I am Asmodeus," the demon says in an affected voice.

"Fourth Prince of Hell," Drexel mutters under his breath.

"I am here to rule until such time as Lucifer returns with his son. And there will be some changes. The underperforming and ineffective, the corporate lackeys in the Crowley era, are being purged. The grand ole days of fire and brimstone are back, " he says jauntily. "The following will step forward. Mr. Drexel. Mr. Harrington. Mr. Sierra."

The three demons step forward hesitantly.

"As for the rest of y'all," Asmodeus raises his hands like a conductor. He clenches his fists. The other demons clutch their necks, choking. Gold-tinged light explodes from their eyes and mouth.

Drexel, Harrington, and Sierra look around. The other demons collapse to the floor with burnt eye sockets.

Asmodeus takes off his white jacket and drapes it over the right arm of the throne. He turns around. "There's a new sheriff in town." He smiles and a glint of gold comes into his eyes.

 **SUPERNATURAL**

The Impala screams down a dark road. Jack's asleep in the back and Dean is driving.

"Hey, we still got probably 12 hours until we're home," Sam says. "You want me to drive?"

"Do I ever want you to drive?" Dean snaps.

Sam thinks for the words to sway Dean with. "Look, losing mom and Cas, that's a lot to process Dean, especially on no sleep. And we need to think about how to handle the kid-

"The kid?" Dean interrupts. "Come on, man, you know how this plays out. Look, when we try to bend the rules, pretend that things can get better, that there's a magic fix-it, and the world's gonna be better, that's when people that we care about die. And then we end up doing what we should've done in the first place, which is to kill the monsters and burn the bodies. So this time, let's start with the obvious. Soon as I find a way to take care of … it."

"Dean, the 'problem' might be our only shot at saving mom," Sam says.

Dean looks at Sam. "Mom's gone. There's no fixing that," Dean says fatalistically.

 **In the alternate universe.**

Lucifer hops awkwardly yet quickly down a steep, ashy hill, hits a trail at the bottom, then starts going up the other side. Mary picks her way down the slope considerably more carefully.

"Mary, pick up the pace," Lucifer snaps his fingers. "We got a lot of ground to cover."

Mary sits down on the ashy hillside in quiet defiance. "Not sure I see the point. Since no matter how this plays out, you're going to kill me."

Lucifer stares up at the gray sky with a scrunched face. "Why would I kill you?" He turns around to look at her. "Ah, because you think I'm evil." He stands still. "Let me tell you a couple things. You don't defy God, spend years dreamwalking through a tenuous, vestigial Grace-connection to torment an ex-vessel as he deserved, and then escape the Cage, without a modicum of cunning and a view, long-term. I have a game plan. If Sam comes here to rescue you, you're a ready-made hostage. And if I jump back and take you with me, you're collateral again, if your sons have my boy-"

"You can't possibly care about a child," Mary says.

"You don't know what I care about," Lucifer says as he scans the skies. "Down!" Lucifer shouts as he ducks.

A fireball streaks down, trailing black smoke, and lands on the side of the hill where Mary was sitting, with an explosion and a cloud of dust that drifts in the wind.

Lucifer uncovers his face as the dust dissipates. "What. The. Hell." He calls out in a loud voice, "Mary?"

Mary is gone.

 **Back in Hell's Throne Room.**

Drexel throws open the heavy metal door with a clang, striding in awkwardly. His black suit has changed to street wear of skinny jeans and a t-shirt emblazoned: Lucifer...Lives Forever. "No trace of Lucifer, sir."

"Indeed," Asmodeus says from where he sits on the throne, with one leg tossed over the other in an affected pose.

"We scoured all of Hell and checked the cage. A thousand of the weakest demons have slipped out to scan the streets, sir," Drexel says, "...and a thousand more of the weakest demons can slip out every hour."

Asmodeus strokes his chin. "At this point, we must focus on the son."

"Yes, sir," Drexel says. "In the event that he lives, key personnel in shopping facilities selling diapers are top on the list-

Asmodeus cuts in, almost angry, "He is not an infant. New to this word, yes, but he is full of timeless knowledge and unschooled power. He lives! I know it. With Lucifer gone, we will place him on the throne, properly advised, of course."

"Yes, sir," Drexel says, opening up his black notebook. "Find son and install as ruler of Hell," Drexel looks up smarmily, "But continue to search for Lucifer. Because if we didn't, he'd be upset. And I can assure you, from personal experience, that an upset Lucifer has a, uh, short fuse."

Asmodeus grips lightly with his fingers in the air, and Drexel chokes. Another demon in the throne room looks on as Drexel staggers forward and drops onto his knees in front of Asmodeus.

Asmodeus grabs him by the tie. "Are you equating your paltry acquaintance with our lord to mine?"

"Uh," Drexel chokes.

"Mine which is borth from eons of service and sacrifice," Asmodeus says. He loosens his grip on Drexel.

Drexel coughs and gasps. "Ah, no! No."

"I know the perils of Lucifer's disappointment." Asmodeus lets go of Drexel. "...Long ago, eager to please, I freed the Shedim to wreck havoc on earth."

"... I've heard stories," Drexel whimpers.

Asmodeus cuts in. "Oh, I'm sure you have. Hell's most savage. But I, in my pride, believed that I could train them. Use them. But Lucifer despised them, as well he should. So he forbade it, locked them up again. He was…" Asmodeus draws two fingers down his scarred cheek, "...displeased with me and gave me this scar to bear as a mark of his wrath. I am his to command, as you are mine…. Write that down."

 **Black Hat Hotel:**

A gaudy red, cream, and black sign shows the Black Hat Hotel. Police sirens wail in the distance.

Dean rounds a corner of the hallway, growling, "This is a bad idea, we should have just kept driving."

The hotel interior is a deep, rich red on the top half of the wall, and black on the bottom half, with decorative paintings in wood frames. Jack and Sam follow Dean.

Dean looks at the keys.

"Dude, you were hallucinating sheep on the road," Sam says cuttingly. "We need a few hours."

Dean enters the spacious room with deep blue walls, a red kitchenette, and two double beds.

"This is nice!" Jack says happily, as he looks around.

"Let's ward the room, get a bite, get a few hours of sleep, hit the road first thing," Sam says offscreen as Dean looks at the mud-yellow bathroom.

The TV turns on and the sounds of Scooby-doo come out.

Jack is sitting cross-legged on the end of a double bed with a designer comforter, and decorative lamps on dark wood furniture. "It's ... wonderful," he says, staring at the TV.

"Hey. No," Dean says, striding over and grabbing the remote off the top of the TV.

"But?" Jack looks at the screen, where Scooby winds up his cartoon tail and uses it as a motor to get away from a log with explosives.

Dean chuckles at the explosion, but then he says, "No."

Sam looks on, dismayed by the way Dean's treating Jack.

"...And you're on the couch, sport," Dean slams the remote on the TV. "So go over there… Sit down and …. here..." Dean picks up a black-covered bible from the bed stand as Jack obediently walks to the couch. Dean throws the bible on the couch.

"Read a book. We're out of here in a few hours," Dean says, and heads into the bathroom.

Jack flips open the Bible to a middle page, on the Song of Solomon.

Sam says in a low voice so Dean won't overhear, "Jack, hey, I can take the couch, why don't you…"

"Nono, it's fine," Jack says, eager to read the book.

Sam forces a smile, then takes his black bag and walks away while Jack returns to reading the bible.

A little later, Jack gobbles a hamburger with terrible manners. Dean sits next to him, giving him a look.

Sam tapes a paper on the door: it looks like sigil drawn in crayon on a torn piece of white takeout bag. Other protective sigils drawn on pieces of torn white paper, and the reverse side of a McDonald's style paper placemat are taped around the room.

"You can slow down, you know," Dean says thickly to Jack, his mouth full of food, as Sam walks to the coffee table and sits on a wood chair on the opposite side of the couch. "That stuff's not gonna disappear."

"Ever seen you eating, Dean?" Sam says pointedly.

Dean looks up, stunned at Sam's indirect rebuke for the way he's treating Jack. Dean slaps the burger down and grabs a beer.

Jack follows Dean and takes a beer too.

Dean puts out an arm, holding Jack back. "Wait, how old do you think you are?

"3 days, 17 hours, and 42 minutes," Jack says.

Dean looks at Sam, who makes a 'I don't know' frowny face, and doesn't say anything more. Dean looks at Jack and then takes a swig of beer and wipes his mouth with his hand.

Jack takes a swig of beer and wipes his mouth with his hand. Sam looks on as Dean sets his beer down with a thunk and brushes his hands off a little. Jack thunks his beer down and brushes his hands a lot. Dean notices the copying and glares at Jack again.

Sam smiles.

"This book," Jack puts his finger on the bible. "Mentions Lucifer."

"Oh yeah, he's… he's big in the bible," Dean says, bringing his burger to his mouth. "Lotta screen time."

"And you knew him?" Jack asks.

Sam says, "Well … it's … he's not easy to know. We … he …. In the beginning, he was one of the first angels God created. They fought Amara, the darkness, she's God's sister, and God sealed her with a Mark that he gave to Lucifer to carry. The Mark ... corrupted him."

Dean looks at Sam, downplaying Lucifer's actions and mentioning the Mark.

"And that's .. that's bad?" Jack asks.

"Damn straight. He's a full-on big bad. He tried to end the world. He turned on God," Dean explains.

"God, he's in here too," Jack interrupts. "Why?"

"Yeah, um, God, basically created everything," Sam explains, "...In the Judeo-Christian and Muslim mythology. Other gods from other mythologies exist, the Greek gods, Egyptian gods, Norse gods. We haven't worked out exactly how they fit together, and they each have their own creation myths-"

"Look, Lucifer was locked in the Cage in Hell where God put him to keep him from frying everyone. When we were fighting the Darkness, Castiel freed Lucifer to fight, and then God and Amara made up and skipped out, leaving guys like us to clean up his messes," Dean finishes.

"Is the Darkness gone?" Jack asks.

"Yeah," Dean says.

"So God's like my grandfather. He's family," Jack supposes. "Is that good?"

"Sometimes," Dean says, with one cheek stuffed with food. He grabs his beer and relaxes into the couch.

Jack grabs the beer and copies him.

"Okay, alright, will you stop," Dean grumps.

Jack looks disturbed and sits up, still holding the beer.

"So, Jack, we know Kelly taught you things before you were born. And obviously, you can, you know, make people or things move with your mind and um, heal from a stab wound. But, um, what else can you do?" Sam says.

"I...don't know," Jack says.

"Okay, for instance, say you wanted to be someplace else right, now. Could you?" Sam asks.

"Can you teleport?" Dean asks bluntly, chewing the last mouthful of burger.

"Teleport?" Jack asks.

"Yes," Dean says. "If you wanted to be on the other side of that door, right this instant, what would you do?"

Jack gets up.

"What?" Dean says.

Jack walks to the warded door, unlocks it, and opens it, walks on the other side, then closes it.

"Great," Dean says and takes a swig of beer.

Jack knocks on the door.

Dean swallows his beer and closes his eyes.

"You know, it's possible he's more human than we thought," Sam says.

Dean shakes his head.

Sam opens the door.

Jack smiles happily. "Like that!"

"Come on. You're trying to tell me that you didn't pick up anything before you were born. That your father never reached out to you?" Dean says.

Jack flashes back to a memory of red eyes and Lucifer chained to a chair in Hell.

"What?" Dean says.

"Jack. Hey. You alright?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Jack opens his eyes.

Outside the motel room, a bulky, trenchcoated figure waddles down the red and black hallway.

Inside the room, Sam says, "Alright, I say we, uh, get some rest," he shuffles on his chair and puts his hands on his thighs. "It's been a long day."

Dean rubs an eye.

"We're startin' early tomorrow," Sam says.

A noise. Sam looks and Dean follows his gaze, while Jack doesn't notice the tension.

Sam sees a shadow cross the bottom of the door. He points, and Dean gets up. Jack starts to notice what's going on. Dean pats Jack's knee and Jack heads back.

Sam hands an angel-blade to Dean. Sam has a pistol out and points it at the door, a flask in easy reach in his pocket.

Dean puts his hand on the doorknob.

Sam nods.

Dean opens the door, grabs the trench-coated guy standing outside, and throws him on the floor. He slams the warded door.

The overweight guy with glasses looks up blearily at the 3 faces hovering over him. It's Donatello, the prophet from Season 11.

"Donatello?" Sam asks.

"Sam, Dean, is God with you?" the prophet asks.

"No. You okay?" Sam says.

Donatello gets up and crashes on the couch, holding his hat. "Pretty much. No soul of course, thanks to Amara. It's like losing your nose. You never really noticed it when you had it, but you miss it when it's gone. Now, when I come to a moral crossroads, I ask myself, 'What would Mr. Rogers do?' As soon as I nail that, I'm usually good."

"Why are you here?" Dean asks.

Donatello takes a deep breath. "Yes, that is the question we all must ask."

Dean turn away, then back at Donatello, shrugging his head like rolling his eyes with his entire head, "Why are you in Wyoming?"

"Oh! Uh well ... ahem... after God left, I said to myself, Donatello you are so retired. I mean, who needs a prophet of God when there is no God. So, a few days ago, I'm online checking out condos in Boca, and I am knocked off my feet by this weird wave of power. Not exactly like God's. More like ... something new, something fresh. I was drawn to it. It's here." Donatello looks at Jack. "Wow." He sits up and looks at Jack.

Jack looks blank.

"Who are you?" Donatello asks.

"I'm Jack."

"Jack is a nephilim," Sam says.

"A child of human and an angel," Donatello says stentoriously.

"Archangel actually, … Lucifer," Sam says.

"Lucifer?" Donatello's taken aback.

"And Donatello here, is a prophet," Sam says to Jack.

"Which means he has a direct line to God, to Heaven," Dean says.

"Yeah, well, not so much anymore. But, uh …" Donatello gets up and holds his hands in front of Jack, like he's warming them by a fire. "Look at you. The waves of power. So intense."

"Maybe less human than we thought," Dean says to Sam.

"Fascinating. You know I've met your father," Donatello says. "Your power's nothing like his. Not dark not toxic."

Sam looks at Dean.

"If Jack is sending out a signal strong enough to get Donatello all the way out here... The angels are still out there. I mean, who knows what else might be listening. He needs more protection," Sam says.

 **A Tattoo Parlor**

"All right, so uh," Sam shuffles a stack of papers in his hands as he speaked to a scrawny tattoo artist wearing a vest over pajamas, with crazy, half-shaved hair that looks like he was woken from bed at 1 am and didn't style it.

"I'm thinking something like this, right about here," Sam pats the air over Jack's naked chest. Jack is lying down on a reclined chair. "Exactly like this." Sam lets go of the paper, a creased pen drawing of an anti-possession sigil, "and this," Sam puts another paper with a more complex symbol on Jack's chest.

"And you're cool with this?" the tattoo artist asks Jack.

Jack nods, "Yeah," of course is implied by his tone.

"W… we're brothers, it's kind of like a family crest," Sam says, drawing back his brown jacket and shirt to show his anti-possession tattoo. "He has to have it before we meet the rest of the family tomorrow," he lies smoothly and pats the tattoo artist's back.

The guy shakes his head as he looks at the designs.

Sam walks to Dean as the tattoo artist starts to work. "So you heard Donatello. No evil vibes from Jack."

"Proves nothing. Except you're way too attached to this kid," Dean says. "You need to see this for what it is, okay? I mean, what do you need, a sign?"

"Dean, whatever his powers are or will be, they could be used for good. And look at what he's done so far-"

Jack winces, and the tattoo machine explodes with sparks and white smoke floats out of it. The tattoo artist is thrown across the room, hits the wall at head-height, and falls to the ground.

"Ugh," the tattoo artist groans.

Dean takes a step to stand angrily at the head of the chair. "Did you do that?" he demands of Jack.

"I'm not sure," Jack says.

"Hey, you alright?" Sam crouches where the tattoo artist has fallen.

"It hurt," Jack says.

"Sometimes things hurt, so you just man up and deal with it," Dean says harshly.

"Yes, I understand," Jack says resigned. "Pain is part of the human experience. Accepting it is, when necessary, is a sign of maturity."

"Okay, uh," Sam says.

The tattoo artist gets up groggily.

Sam tries to help him up, but the tattoo artist shrugs him off. "Ugh," the tattoo artist limps into place next to Jack. "I have a backup needle," and he points at Sam and then at a cabinet. "The box in that cabinet, upper right, white box…."

Sam walks to the cabinet and gets him the box, taking out the needle. The tattoo artist takes it and hooks it up. He doesn't look at Sam or Dean, just at Jack. "Let's finish this."

Sam looks at Dean.

A while later, the tattoo guy has his needle out and finishes inking Jack. "Okey dokey," the tattoo artist says, as he turns off the needle and then puts it away.

Jack looks at his chest, where there's a sigil over the middle of his chest and a smaller anti-possession sigil on the upper left. He sits up.

"Looks good, Jack," Sam says.

Jack looks down at his chest. The tattoos disappear.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean says.

Sam looks at the back of the tattoo artist and steps between him and Jack. He hands Jack his shirt.

The three walk to the Impala, parked inside the cluttered industrial garage of the tattoo parlor.

Past the metal doors, a homeless woman pushes a grocery cart past the opening, as Jack, Sam, and Dean get in the Impala.

The doors slam. Her eyes turn black.

 **The motel room.**

Back in the motel room, Sam whispers to Dean and Donatello. "It was a reflex. He didn't do it on purpose." Sam, Dean, and Donatello stand near the door.

Jack sits on the couch, halfway across the room, listening to the adults talk.

"Who care if he didn't do it on purpose, he did it," Dean says. "I mean, you didn't see Cas smiting doctors and nurses when he was in the hospital."

"I'm right here, you know," Jack says.

"Yeah, and what about the vanishing tattoo?" Dean says.

"An archangel healing itself," Donatello says.

"Or maybe he didn't want to be warded," Dean says.

"Okay, look yeah, Jack is on Lucifer's family tree, but we don't know if that means more than Kelly's, or his connection to Cas," Sam whispers urgently.

"Oh, you mean the connection that got Cas killed! By Lucifer, his father!" Dean says.

"I'm just saying that Jack doesn't have to be evil," Sam says.

Dean scoffs.

"Ah, the nature versus nurture conundrum," Donatello pats Sam and Dean on their shoulders.

"Hey," Dean says.

"Dude!" Sam says when Donatello doesn't let go.

Donatello lets go. "Oh, speaking not as a prophet, but as a scientist. I don't think teaching him is in the cards. It's like asking a lion not to be a lion."

Sam shakes his head. "You're soulless! And this isn't a lion, this is a human!"

"With a strong dose of God juice," Donatello says.

"Okay, that's it, I'm done alright," Dean says. "'Cause he's not God, he's not Cas, he's not Simba. He's the son of the friggin' Devil." Dean waves his arm at the couch where Jack was sitting.

Jack is gone.

"Jack?" Sam says.

 **Outside the motel.**

Jack is outside, sitting cross-legged on a red crate against against a blue painted, concrete wall next to a dumpster. He flashbacks to memories of Kelly: "I love you, Jack. I love you so much." Kelly holding Castiel's hold. Kelly saying, "You are gonna be amazing."

"Jack? … Jack." It's Sam. He stands with his hands in his pockets, his tan jacket shrugged up from his hunched shoulders. "Hey."

Jack looks away, hiding his face in his elbow, sniffling.

"Hey bud, we uh, we been looking for you," Sam says.

Jack puts his feet on the ground and holds the edges of the crate. He doesn't look at Sam as he speaks. "I'm sorry. I… everyone was so angry."

"Yeah and um, I suppose you wanted to be away from it." Sam takes his hands out of his pockets. They're right outside the hotel. The sign is in the background.

"And suddenly I was," Jack says. "I can teleport."

"I tell you what," Sam says, taking a yellow crate off a stack and sitting next to Jack. "You got some special skills, Jack. That's for sure. We just need to make sure to get a grip on them, so you don't hurt anybody."

"Is that why Dean hates me?" Jack asks.

"Dean doesn't hate you," Sam looks away, then back at Jack. "It… look sometimes the wires in Dean's head gets crossed and... and he gets frustrated. And then he mixes frustration with anger, and-and-and with fear."

"Why would _he_ be afraid?" Jack asks.

"Because Dean feels like it's his job to protect everyone," Sam says. "And right now, we need to protect you. But we also may need to protect people from you."

Jack looks upset and starts to cry again. "I'm not bad."

"Jack, your mom loved you and wanted the best for you. She believed in you, in your goodness. So did Cas. So do I." Sam puts his hand on Jack's shoulder.

Black Spur Bar

Inside a bar, a waitress in a white shirt walks around a pool table. She carries a circular tray with four beers and stops near Dean. "Getcha another?" She asks.

"Yeah, sure," Dean glances up to check her out, then glances through the windows. Across the street, Sam and Jack are sitting together on their crates.

"What the hell, you're not drivin', right," the waitress says. "I just, I've seen you around the hotel. Passin' through with - what .. your buddies?"

"Uh..., that's my brother and a messed up kid," Dean says.

"Awww... the kids messed up," she says sympathetically.

"Yeah, issues with his dad," Dean says.

"The older fella," the waitress says.

"No, that's uh, … he's a guy we work with," Dean says. "Thought he died, but he's a tough son of a bitch."

"You know, I hated my old man. I ran away myself ... See, my mom would never stick up for me… but, you know kids. No matter what, they still want the old man's approval. Well, that's how it was for me…."

"You know, that's uh…" Dean trails off. "That's how it was with me too."

The waitress leans against the pool table. "And what about the kid?"

"Different story. He had a foster father…."

Dean looks through the windows. Across the street, Sam and Jack are gone.

"You know what, I'm good, I'll take a walk," Dean finishes his glass and sets it down on the counter. He takes out his wallet and leaves money on the counter. "There you go, thank you."

As he walks away, the view lowers to the dead body of the waitress talking to Dean. Her throat has been cut, messily, and left on the floor behind the bar.

The door closes on the empty bar. With a shimmer, the waitress turns into Asmodeus. He picks up a glass and takes a drink with an affected shake of his head.

 **Black Hat Hotel Room**

A knock on the door.

Sam is sitting at a table, looking at his tablet. "Who is it?" he asks, walking to the door.

"Donatello," the man outside the door says.

Sam opens the door.

"Hey," Sam says.

"Good morning!" Donatello says cheerfully.

"How's Jack?" Sam asks as they sit at the table. "Uh, by the way, sorry to stick him with you. Things got a little tense here, last night, so I figured it'd be better to have him stay in your room."

"It's not a big deal, he's an interesting kid," Donatello says.

"Yeah, yeah, that's an understatement," Sam says.

"Le-let me ask ya, do you have any idea how powerful he'll get to be?"

"I-don't, no. But, the lore says, quote, a nephilim becomes more powerful than the angel who sires it," Sam flips through his tablet, where he has digitized lorebooks. "In this case, the sire is an archangel. So..."

"Does he know about his father?" Donatello asks.

"Vaguely," Sam says.

"So... he's not bonded to Lucifer," Donatello draws a conclusion.

"He seems to a have a real attachment to his mom, but only kind of a fuzzy idea about his dad. And his mom, Kelly was a good person."

"Do you think you could be molded?" Donatello asks.

"Well, sure, of course." Sam smiles, "He was copying Dean last night, but...he tends towards good on his own," Sam says.

"Mm, yes." Donatello says. He knocks on wood. And Sam follows that and knocks on the table. "I hope you're right," he says as he gets up to leave.

"Yeah," Sam says.

 **In the alternate universe:**

Mary walks past a body preserved in the ashy soil. She stumbles down a short, steep slope with a grunt. On the level ground, littered by bodies and rock, with a tilted wooden house in the background, instinct makes her stop and back away.

An armed guy jumps out from behind a rock, swinging his assault rifle to point at her.

Mary startles and puts up her hands.

"Who the hell are you?" the man says nervously. His voice is weedy.

"Mary. Mary Winchester, I'm a hunter."

"Doubt it," the guy says quickly, inching forward. "Come here," he beckons with one hand, his voice deeper.

Mary reluctantly walks closer.

The man puts his hand out to stop. "You don't walk like an angel. They all walk like they got sticks up their asses."

He sloshes a splash of holy water over her. Mary sighs.

"Not a demon neither," he says, surprised.

Mary drops her arms to her sides. "I told you." She sounds annoyed, even bitter.

"I ain't never met a female hunter," he says. "Not many women, period, since the wars began."

"Wars?" Mary asks tensely.

"What rock you been under?" the man says with perfect disbelief.

"I'm not from around here," Mary says.

"Oh," the man nods.

"I don't know anything. I just got attacked by some kind of fireball or something."

The man chuckles and drops his weapon, scratching his mouth. "Heh. Angels, yeah. Always taking shots." He walks closer. "Maybe I can ... help you ... find your way," he says intensely.

"I'm good," Mary says, backing away a little.

"Let's keep this friendly, huh?" the man grabs her arm.

Mary punches him. They grapple. "Bitch!" the man grunts. He throws her to the ground and she falls on her back.

He raises his assault rifle to kill her. Mary puts out her hand, but…

"Uuuuu!"

A fist punches through the man's chest. He's pinioned for a moment, with his back arched, then he falls.

Lucifer is standing behind him, gore from the man's chest covering his hand.

Mary looks up.

Lucifer flicks his fingers. "You're welcome, Mary. I'm … disappointed you left without me. What is wrong with you? We need each other. This is a no-brainer. We get out of this theme park, we both get our children back."

"You think I want you to win?" Mary says defiantly.

Lucifer sighs, with a cold look, he snaps his fingers and Mary doubles over, clutching her stomach, and falls over in agony.

He waits a long moment, then snaps his fingers again.

Mary flattens on the ground in relief.

"There's a lesson for you. I have all the power. You will work with me, or I will make you suffer."

Mary sits up, giving Lucifer a subdued glare.

 **Black Hat Hotel Room**

Dean comes in, carrying a paper bag of food and a molded cardboard tray with two cups of coffee.

"Hey," Sam says, looking up from his phone. "Look, we are gonna be on the road a long time today. Right?"

Dean sets the food down and takes a seat at the table. "Yeah, well, you know, we don't have to be, 'cause your new pal could zap up back to the Bunker," Dean snaps his fingers, "Like that." He takes a cup.

"Point is," Sam sighs, "If you and I are going to do this, keep Jack on the right side of things, then-then we have to be on the same page."

"Okay, well, that's the problem though, Sam, 'cause we're not on the same page, like at all," Dean says shortly.

Sam sighs. "Alright, you know, I know what's going on here," and sits back in his chair.

"Oh, okay, well please tell me, what's going on here," Dean says sarcastically.

"You. Thinking mom's gone, Cas' gone, and that Jack can't be saved." Sam sighs and sits forward. "Dean, we just lost people we love. People who have been in our lives for a long time. Everything's upside-down, I get it. But we've been down before, I mean rock-bottom. And we find a way! We fix it, because that's what we do. And Jack, _wants_ to do the right thing. Jack's scared to death of who he is and he's scared of you. He doesn't have to be. Will you… lighten up on him! The best we can do is to keep Jack on the right side, or help him change, so he is on the right-" Sam tacks on to forestall argument.

There's a knock on the door.

Sam sighs. "Who is it?" he asks as he gets up.

"Donatello," the voice comes from outside the door.

Sam opens the door and Donatello comes inside. "Mornin' guys. Uh got a minute? I, uh, wanna talk to you about Jack."

Sam says questioningly, "But we just talked about Jack?"

"What?" Donatello says.

"You were just here," Sam says.

"No I wasn't, I was grabbing breakfast burritos, extra spicy," Donatello lifts his white plastic takeout bag.

Dean gets up quickly. He leads the three of them down the red hallway, into a colorful turquoise room. The covers on the beds are thrown back.

"Jack?" Dean calls out.

"He's gone," Sam whispers. "Okay, okay, so-so-so who's got Jack, uh. Who was I - or what was I talking to? A shifter?"

"What would a shifter want with Jack?" Dean shoots the idea down.

Donatello drops the takeout bag, his hands rest on the upper curve of his stomach. In a trance, he walks behind Sam.

"Where you going, cowboy?" Dean demands.

"He-he went this way," Donatello says quietly.

"You sure?" Sam asks.

"I can feel it," Donatello says.

"I'll get the gear," Dean says.

Dean strides down the hallway and into their room. He grabs Sam's tablet and puts it in the bag.

A floorboard creaks. Dean dodges, starting a visually interesting and dynamic fight scene, the awesomeness of which cannot be captured by words: A walrus-mustached bald guy swings a knife, Dean dodges, the knife stabs into the table. Dean grabs the guy's knife arm, slams him in the face. They grapple. Dean swings him so the man faceplants onto the table, twisting the guy's arm. The man pushes up with demonic strength … and punches Dean. Dean rocks back. The man punches Dean again, then slams him against the window, spins Dean and throws him on the table, punching him again. Dean grapples the demon with his legs and punches the demon's head. The demon stands up, carrying Dean and walks Dean's head through the lower edge of black moulding or a support brace, breaking it off, and then slams Dean on the bed. Dean scoots back, weakly, dazed. The man walks around the side of the bed with black eyes.

Out of nowhere, the demon lights up. Sam's standing behind the demon. With a grunt, Sam pulls the blade out of the demon's back and the demon falls to the floor with a thunk.

"Demons," Dean says.

"I guess the word's out," Sam says, breathing heavily.

"Donatello," Dean says.

They scramble out of the room. Dean grabs an angel blade from the bag on the floor.

In the hallway, Sam freezes as he sees Donatello thrown into the wall. A demon in a butcher's apron, jeans, workboots, and a t-shirt, carrying a knife, grabs Donatello by the neck and slams the prophet into the wall again.

Dean hefts the angel blade and throws it. The blade spins end over end and sprouts from the side of the demon's neck. The demon lights up.

The demon collapses against the other wall and falls heavily against the radiator underneath the window.

Sam smiles.

"Uh, housekeeping is not gonna like this," Dean says as he strides to Donatello and the body.

Sam makes a face and hurries after Dean.

 **A prairie of green grass and purple wildflowers.**

A silver Toyota corolla pulls up to a depression littered with wood. "Jack," Donatello and Jack are in the front seats.

"Yes…. God has a message for you. You must prepare yourself, Jack. Train yourself to use your gifts, to fulfil your destiny."

"How?" Jack asks.

Donatello looks at him, but doesn't answer that question. "Let's fulfill your destiny." Donatello gets ouf the car.

Jack slowly walks down the slope after him.

"Long ago, a troop of God's bravest soldiers were trapped in a distant cavern in a place called Hell," Donatello orates beautifully.

"I've read about Hell. It doesn't sound nice," Jack says simply.

"It's not!... That's why we have to rescue the soldiers. They're called the Shedim. And God wants you to set them free. To be a hero," Donatello says.

"I could do that?" Jack says.

Donatello laughs and spreads his arms briefly. "And so much more." He walks a little further and frames a patch of earth with his hands. "You see that patch of earth there? Imagine the force of your will, drilling down into infinite darkness, the soldiers being drawn to the surface!" Donatello raises his hands. "Do it Jack! Do it for God!"

Jack concentrates.

"Focus," Donatello says.

"I'm trying," Jack says.

"Try harder, boy!" Donatello urges.

Jack shutters his eyes.

 **A road.**

The Impala speeds on a road past wild greenery.

Donatello sit in the back. "Uh, turn!" Donatello taps Dean on the shoulder to get his attention.

Dean takes the turn with a screech of tires.

"This is worrisome, I'm sensing a power emanation alongside Jack's," Donatello says. "It gets stronger the closer we get to it."

Sam looks up from the journal he is looking through.

Jasper 3 mi, the green highway post says.

"Jasper, Wyoming?" Donatello says disbelievingly.

"Maybe it's an angel," Dean suggests.

"No something dark," Donatello says.

Dean says. "Alright, well see if anything in Jasper is demony."

"Yeah, there is. According to dad's journal, Jasper is home to its very own Gate to Hell. It gets better," Sam says.

"Fantastic," Dean says sarcastically.

"According to legend, this particular gate leads to, quote, a place where unimaginable evil emanates from creatures too wicked for the Pit to hold," Sam says.

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asks.

Donatello faceplants into the back of the bench seat. "They're really bad," he says almost drolly, hands gripping the seat.

Sam, Dean, and Donatello exchange glances.

"The Shedim. The movers and shakers in the world who use their influence for evil, successfully … are locked away in a special section of the Pit made to hold them," Donatello says. "Ey, turn!" He points quickly.

 **In the alternate universe.**

Mary looks up and sees the same, crooked wooden house, from a different angle. They've been walking in a circle.

"I'm tired," Mary says, subtly distracting Lucifer.

Lucifer turns to look at her and laughs, "We need to get back before -who knows what- happens to my son. You and your ilk are the reason we're trapped here, with my senses blinded by angel warding spells. How they carved them into this ash, I don't know." He looks up at the pillars. "It's not the pillars or I would knock them down. So you will walk on your weak little legs and breathe with your fragile human lungs and keep going. The longer we stay here, the worse it will get for you."

Wings flap. Five people dressed in camos appear, facing in all directions.

"Greetings," Lucifer says.

"The reek of Hell is on you," one of the young angels says.

"That would be her," Lucifer points at Mary.

"False," the angel says. "Identify yourself."

"I'm Ambriel," Lucifer says. "Don't you recognize me?" He pats his chest coyly.

"You speak falsely," the angel says.

"What! Can't you sense who I am, brother?" Lucifer takes a step forward.

"Freeze!" the angel says.

"Oh… are you going to smite me?" Lucifer pretends to gasp.

"On my command," the angel raises his fist. Blue glints in the angel's eyes.

Lucifer snaps his fingers. The angels explode: blue light in a cloud of black smoke that fades almost immediately.

Mary looks up from where she was covering her head.

"The angels in this universe…," Lucifer says. "Did they glow? ...Were my eyes glowing?" He asks Mary, flustered.

She hesitates, then shakes her head. "I didn't see."

 _Woosh. Thump._

A fireball lands on the ground. Lucifer and Mary turn away from the smoke and dust.

An angel appears in the crater and furls his wings, showing as a shadow on the ashy hillside behind him. His vessel is a black man in a dark duster. He approaches. "You should be dead," he says to Lucifer.

"Who are you, and what spaghetti western coughed you up?" Lucifer says. "Treat your vessel with a little style!" Lucifer snaps his fingers.

Nothing happens.

"Don't you know me, brother?" Michael says.

"Michael?" Lucifer says.

 **A prairie of green grass and purple wildflowers.**

"Summon up the force of all your will, Jack. Do it for God!" Donatello urges.

Jack breathes heavily, he shivers, and his cheeks shake. His eyes burn gold.

The ground falls away in front of Donatello, and Asmodeus-in disguise - shouts in triumph.

Reddish magma shows beneath the earth that crumbles away.

"You're doing it! He's doing!" Donatello dances in a circle. "Yes!"

Jack grits his teeth, and his crooked smile widens in evil delight.

The Impala roars on the road leading to the depression.

"It's working!" Jack says in his boyish voice. The light fades from his eyes.

"Don't lose focus! Don't lose focus, Jack!" Donatello waves his arms frantically.

A clawed hand with blackened nails rises up and grabs the log at the edge of the hole.

"Yes, yes!" Donatello says.

Jack's eyes light up again.

"He's doing it. Keep focused!" Donatello shouts to the sky.

The liver-spotted arm of the Shedim, searches the grass for a hand-hold. The creature growls and breathes heavily as it drags itself through the Gate.

The Impala purrs on the dirt road leading to the depression and stops on the dead grass of an improvised parking lot, next to the silver Corolla.

Sam gets out first. "Jack, hey stop!"

Jack turns around.

"Don't listen to them, Jack" the false Donatello shouts.

"Holy, crap," Dean mutters as he runs up with the real Donatello.

A second clawed arm appears at the edge of the Gateway to Hell.

"Focus!" the false Donatello says.

"That's not me, Jack, that's not Donatello," the real Donatello shouts.

"No, that's not Donatello!" the false Donatello says, even more emphatically.

"Ah, screw this," Dean says, drawing his gun from his front pocket. He shoots the false Donatello.

Asmodeus appears in a shimmer of gray smoke. His eyes burn yellow.

"Jack, he's a demon," Sam points at Asmodeus.

"Howdy, boys," Asmodeus drawls, drawing his crooked hand across the air. Dean, Sam, and Donatello start to choke.

"No!" Jack says. The partly opened Gate to Hell quickly closes. There's no trace of the Shedim that was partway through.

"Jack," Asmodeus says. "They wanna stop you. Contain you. I… I can give you the world. Help you, fulfill your destiny!"

Jack looks at Sam and Dean choking. Filled with rage, he says, "You're hurting my friends!" His eyes glow gold and his cheeks quiver.

Asmodeus teleports away.

The light fades from Jack's eyes. Dean, Sam and Donatello stop choking. Donatello rolls onto his back.

Jack looks uncertainly at Sam and Dean, and then his face closes.

 **In the alternate universe.**

From this angle, a dead creature with horns is visible, lying on the sand and ash.

Michael faces Lucifer and Mary. "You. Are. Lucifer. I can feel it. How is this possible?"

"Um, " Lucifer furrows his brow. "Alternate universes, interdimensional travel..." He shrugs. "You're a cheap knockoff to the Michael I left behind, and he's drooling on the floor of the Cage in a vessel that's only half ... of what he needs … and yours is less."

"I killed my brother. Tore him apart over the skies of Abilene," Michael says. "But, fortune favors me."

Thunderclap.

"Um," Lucifer says. He punches Michael in the face and Michael staggers back.

Mary quickly backs away.

Michael and Lucifer exchange blows … one round … a second ... Michael grabs Lucifer's arm and twists it, slowly breaking the arm and the joints.

"Hurt?" Michael demands.

"No, it's kinda wimpy," Lucifer lies. He screams in agony. "What you gonna do? Kill me?"

"No. I need you," Michael says as he twists Lucifer's arm further.

 **The Bunker.**

Sam and Dean sit next to each other against the wall. The table in front of them has a couple beer bottles, and a journal is in front of Sam.

Sam flips through the journal. "These yellow-eyed things just keep on coming, huh?"

"Mmm-hmmm, and hopefully this fourth Prince of Hell is the last in the family," Dean says and takes a small swig of beer.

"According to this, if that was Asmodeus, it's the end of the line," Sam says. "He's the last demon that Lucifer created personally, and the least powerful."

Dean nods and gets up.

"Dean, wait a second."

Dean pauses and looks at Sam.

Sam says, "The kid came through for us today. Jack saved us."

"No. No, whatever that was, that was a sneeze. Maybe next time he sneezes he kills us. Good night," Dean says.

Sam gives Dean a look.

Dean walks into the hallway. He stops to home in a noise and follows it to a bathroom.

Jack has his back to the door, and is holding a bloody knife, stabbing himself with it. He looks at the knife and his chest. The wounds disappear, leaving bloody stab marks in his white undershirt.

"Okay what the hell!" Dean shoves the door open and walks inside. He puts his beer bottle on the sink. "Give me that." He takes the knife with both hands. "Don't be an idiot! Look, A, this is not gonna do anything to you, okay? And B, you … you don't stab yourself!"

"I deserve to be punished," Jack asks in a shaky voice. He turns away from Dean. "That demon fooled me into opening a Gate to Hell ... I can't …" He looks at Dean. "I will hurt someone."

Dean starts to walk away, then he says, "You know, my brother thinks you can be saved."

"You don't believe that," Jack says.

"No, I don't," Dean says.

"So... if you're right?" Jack asks.

"If I'm right, and it comes to killing you, I will End you," Dean says.

Dean takes the beer he put on the sink and walks out.

The End.

#Note: What did you think of the changes? Mostly minor fix-its, more info on Shedim, Lucifer's dialogue and 'dream walking' to torment Sam in season 7 and then more on why he's staying in the alternate universe. I liked the tattoo artist and added a tiny bit more. Didn't like Asmodeus and Drexel - too campy - or the alternate universe angels. Added a car to the scene with Donatello and Jack at the Gate to Hell to explain how they got there. Also changed Sam's dialogue to make it follow better that Asmodeus tries to trick Jack instead of going welcome to the evil side.


	3. Patience

Season 13, Episode 3: Patience in story form with minor canon divergence.

 **Teaser** : flashbacks to previous seasons: a wraith from the mental hospital episode in Season 5, Sam drinking demon blood, and the previous episodes in the season.

 **NOW:**

 **Omaha, Nebraska**

A woman's finger polishes the black frame of photo of two women: Missouri Moseley with curly hair, and a blonde woman. The blonde woman puts the photo back on the mantel over the fireplace, next to a cup of bingo balls and a gold bust, maybe from Thailand. The woman walks across the room and turns off the neon lights advertising 'open', next to 'palm readings' and 'psychic'. A man is standing outside.

He opens the door. "Hello?"

She stops him at the door, preventing him from coming in. "I'm closed for the day, but I open again tomorrow, at 6am.

"There's something on my mind. I … need your help. Missouri … said that you would help me."

The woman looks at him a long moment. " … come in." She steps aside.

The man enters and the woman closes the door.

He's an older man with steel blonde hair, cut short.

"Take a seat, we'll do a reading." She gives him a forced smile and settles down at the table. "So, what can I help you with?"

The man looks at her, laying out tarot cards. "Shouldn't you know already? Since you're psychic."

"I'm a psychic counselor," the woman says with quick nods of her head, "Not a mind reader. I read energies, auras."

"Can you read mine?" the man asks with a small grin.

"Sure, close your eyes," the psychic says.

He closes his eyes and shuffles eagerly in his seat, his hands clasped.

She raises her hands to his head. Waves of energy flow between her hands and his head. The blue waves turn red, and his face flashes into a rotted corpse. She snatches her hands away, but he looks up and stabs one of her hands into the table with a knife.

She screams.

"Can't let you run away, Especially now that I know." He gets up and walks around the table ….

She cries, "What?" and puts out one hand ineffectively between them. "No, no! Please, no!"

He grabs her other arm and pins it behind her back, twisting her body. He whispers, "The neighbors can't hear you."

"No!" she screams as the knife slices deeper into her hand as the man grabs her hair and twists her head.

"You're the real deal," he says, behind her.

"Oh, please, no. Please don't!" she pleads.

A long thick spine, like a sea urchin's spine, protrudes from the sleeve of his jacket. The spine enters the back of her neck. Blood wells up. The woman's pleading scream turns into a gurgle.

The man's face eases in pleasure.

 **SUPERNATURAL**

 **The Bunker. The Library.**

A beer bottle clunks on the table. Dean gives Sam a look, that Sam ignores. Sam gets up and leaves the library, holding a partly closed laptop and a USB. He is dressed in a hideous flesh-colored plaid shirt.

Elsewhere in the bunker, Jack's fingers trace the brick facing as a knock sounds at the door. Donatello sits on the bed, looking at Jack. "The brick facing is fascinating, isn't it," Donatello says.

"Who is it?" Jack asks.

"It's me, uh, Sam."

Jack starts awkwardly into motion, moving to the door, as Sam pushes open the door to the bedroom and tentatively says, "Hey, just checkin' in."

Jack just stares.

"Anyways, I-I brought you something. Please, have a seat," Sam gestures with the half-closed laptop. "Um, before you were born, your mom left you a message." He puts the laptop down in front of Jack. Sam holds up a white USB with black design, and hands it to Jack.

Jack peers at it curiously…

"Right, yeah, here I'll uh…" Sam takes the USB and inserts it. "There ya go. Just press the left mouse button, right here," Sam shows Jack, "Whenever you're ready."

Donatello moves around, behind Jack's chair.

"Thank you," Jack says.

Donatello says, "Interesting" and gives Sam a nod. Sam leaves, but hovers in the doorway as Kelly Kline's video plays. Sam's cell phone buzzes and he turns away and walks back down the hallway.

"Hello?"

"Sam Winchester?" a husky voice asks. "It's good to hear your voice."

"Missouri," Sam says softly. "Wow, it's been uh..."

Missouri stands on a sidewalk. The streetlights are lit. "I know, a long time. Sorry ta be a stranger."

"That's all right, how are ya?" Sam asks.

"Honestly?" Missouri says as the view shows an ambulance behind her. "I could use some help. She's standing in front of the blonde woman's house.

Back in Jack's room, he continues to listen to Kelly Kline's overwrought video: "Jack, don't let anyone tell you who you're supposed to be. Because who you're supposed to be, isn't fate. It isn't me. It isn't your father. You are who you choose to be. And I know you're gonna be okay. You are gonna be amazing. You have an angel watching over you."

Sam walks into the library, on his phone, "Yeah, yeah. No, I hear ya. Yeah, thank you Jody, yeah." To Dean, he says, "You'll never believe this. I got a call from Missouri Moseley."

"Wow, it's been, like, a decade," Dean says.

"More," Sam says.

"What's she want?" Dean asks.

Sam says. "She needed help with a case, so I-I put Jody on it."

"Why would you do that?" Dean asks.

"Because we need to stay here. Jody can handle this," Sam says.

"Yeah, maybe she can. Or maybe she ends up dead because you want to babysit the Antichrist."

"Dean, he's not the Antichrist," Sam says.

"No, don't."

"Mom-" Sam says.

"Don't, …. If you wanna stay here and Mr. Miyagi this kid, knock yourself out." Dean holds up his hand.

Sam tosses him the phone.

 **Omaha, Nebraska. Day.**

The Impala zooms down a road bordered by a lush field of tall herbs and a line of bushes by a ditch.

The scene jumps. In the front of the psychic's house, Jody finishes talking to a man in a suit, "I appreciate the favor, thank you very much." They part and she walks to Missouri, who is waiting for her fifteen feet away. "Talked to him. So the victim, Dede, was a friend of yours?"

"My protege. She was like a daughter to me," Missouri says. "I saw her die. But my vision was clouded, and I was too late."

The Impala pulls up.

"Always did love that car," Missouri says with a smile.

Jody smiles at her.

Dean gets out of the car.

"Dean Winchester!" Missouri says in a joyful voice.

"Missouri. Jody," Dean says. "Hey," Dean says.

Dean and Missouri hug briefly.

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry, for all that life's put you through. You know, you done a good job, the best that you could," Missouri says.

"Thanks," Dean says roughly.

Jody glances curiously at Missouri. "Come here," she says, and pulls Dean into a long hug.

The scene jumps forward in time. Dean, Jody and Missouri enter the psychic's office/home.

"What'd the sheriff have to say?" Dean asks.

"Victim was found with a hole in the base of the skull and a stab wound in her right hand, matching a gouge in table. The killer cleaned the blood from the head wound but let the hand wound bleed on the table. Sorry," Jody says, looking at Missouri.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Missouri asks.

"Wraith," Dean says.

Missouri sighs a yes. "Excuse me, dears." She walks back to the front door, holding her hand over the knob.

Dean and Jody watch as Missouri's eyes roll back.

Missouri has a vision of the man who entered the psychic's store. She sees him enter. "He pretended to be a customer," she sees him walking to a mirror that faces her and sees his corpse-like visage. "Said he needed help, used _my name_!" She stands by the table and sees another vision of the man. "He is a wraith, I can feel it. All that extra brain juice … He's picked up a taste for our kind."

"What kind is that?" Jody asks.

"Psychics. Yes, he does, he feeds on us," Missouri announces dramatically. Her fingers wander over the table and the blood spilled from Dede's hand. A vision overtakes her, not just the wraith, but flashing to another face, a black man. "James!" Missouri exclaims, looking stunned.

In another room in Dede's home business, Missouri calls 'James' on her phone.

James is a black man in a luxurious living room with a pool outside. He answers his cell phone, "Mom?"

"James, baby! I know you don't want me to call, but this is important," Missouri says.

"You had a vision," James states.

"James, you have to believe me! A wraith is coming for you and Patience, and it's a strong one. You-"

James ends the call. He looks around to see if anyone heard. His daughter, a tall teenager, and a girl with red hair, clatter noisily in the kitchen, laughing and rinsing dishes. It looks like they've finished eating lunch.

"I bet you …," the red-head says, but stops talking when she sees James's expression as he watches them from the doorway. "Hey, Mr. Turner."

The tall black eighteen-year old says, "Papa," she looks at him. "What happened?"

James bluffly says, "Nothing, baby. Did you leave a plate for Papa?"

"Yeah, of course I did," Patience says, looking at a plate with salad and a casserole-like glob.

Back inside Dede's house, Missouri closes a panel in the wall and walks out into the main room of Dede's house. She tells Dean and Jody, "I want you to go to Buckhead, Georgia. I texted you the address. James and his daughter Patience are in danger. The wraith is coming for them, that's what I saw."

"Let's go," Dean says.

"I can't go with you. It'll ... complicate things," Missouri says. "I need to stay behind and say my farewells to Dede."

Dean and Jody look at each other, then at Missouri.

"I…" Dean starts to say.

"You don't have to like it, you just need to do it," Missouri says. "You save my family: My son. My granddaughter, you hear me? And keep an eye on the news."

"Yes, ma'am," Dean says.

"Good," Missouri says.

Dean nods, and he and Jody leave the house.

 **Bunker. The Firing Range.**

"Train me," Jack says, unsure if he likes the idea.

Sam walks by with a knife in a sheath. "I've seen what you can do, Jack," Sam says. "You're powerful, but you have to learn to control it."

"So I don't hurt anyone by accident," Jack supposes.

"Exactly," Sam says, holding up the knife and putting it on the floor. Taped outlines mark out a goal. "I want you to move this knife into the goal, between the tape lines, with your mind."

"That's it?" Jack asks.

"Yes," Sam says.

Jack focuses on the knife.

"You can do it," Sam says.

Jack stares the knife. "I can't do it," he says.

"Jack, when you used your powers, what did it feel like?" Sam asks.

"It was like breathing, it just happens," Jack says.

Sam nods. "Good! Well, you can control your breathing. Try it again."

Jack stares at the knife. Nothing happens. He gives up and looks up at Sam.

"How was it, opening the Gate to Hell?" Sam asks.

"He-he made me," Jack says. "I didn't want to hurt anyone."

"I know. I'm glad you don't want to hurt anyone. That's why we're practicing. To help with this exercise, what did it feel like?" Sam asks.

"Like he was in my head," Jack says.

"Well, imagine that-and move the knife away," Sam says. "Here," He unsheathes the knife and puts it on the floor. "Maybe this will help. Pretend someone's attacking you."

Jack stares at Sam, upset. "I don't want to! I don't want him in my head! I can't do this! And you keep staring at me!"

Sam says, "Okay."

"Okay?" Jack asks.

"Yeah, let's take a break and think about it," Sam says. "Alright?" He carefully puts an arm around Jack's shoulders.

"Okay," Jack says.

 **Omaha, Nebraska. Dede's House.**

Night, outside Dede's house. A man walks to the door.

Inside the house, Missouri pours a bag of divination stones into her palm. "My lithomantic gems," she sighs.

The man enters through the unlocked door. The police tape outside the business is gone.

"Hello," Missouri says. She turns around. It's the wraith. "You can spare me the talk. I know what you are and why you're here."

"And why is that?" the man asks.

"You're going to kill me," she says. She looks into the mirror that shows his corpse-like, rotted face.

"Well, then, it's time for you to scream," the man says.

"No, there'll be none of that," Missouri says. "I've seen how this turns out."

"Mmm-hmm," the man says. He grabs her and throws her at the mantel. She falls. He follows her, takes the gold bust and smashes it over her head, then kicks Missouri again and again. "This would be funner if you screamed."

Missouri remains silent, looking at him with a stone face.

He bends over, and stabs her in the neck with his spine.

Her lifeless body lies on the floor, surrounded by spatters of blood.

 **Buckhead, Georgia**

 **A high school.**

The red-haired girl from the pool at James' house walks out of a high school gym. Sounds of balls hitting the floor, follow her outside. She's wearing a Madison Central red t-shirt and carrying a volleyball. Patience, James' daughter, is standing eerily outside.

They walk silently to Patience's locker. They stop. Patience opens the locker, puts her backpack on the floor, and organizes her stuff, moving items from her backpack to the locker and vice versa.

Ronson smirks, backs away and spikes the ball at Patience while Patience has her back turned, putting a book into her backpack...

Patience spins around and catches the ball.

"Awesome!" the redhead says.

"Ronson..."

"It's such a waste," Ronson says.

Patience tosses the ball to Ronson. "It's senior year, I have 5 AP classes and a service learning project I'm not abandoning," Patience says. "Need a lift?"

"Nah, I gotta hit the showers. I'll catch a ride with Shanae."

"Okay. Later," Patience says. She shoulders her backpack, and closes her locker.

Too soon for Ronson to have disappeared, the hallway is empty. Electricity crackles. The lights dim.

She turns, looking around nervously. She walks hesitantly to the gym, but it's dark and empty.

On the floor, she sees a spatter of blood, the same spatter of Missouri's blood on the floor of Dede's house in Omaha. She follows it to a locker.

The locker door swings open. She sees Missouri's body in an empty room, with a blood puncture wound in the neck. Missouri's eyes open and the corpse says, "Patience…." The wraith comes up behind Patience and grabs her in a chokehold. His spine stabs into her neck.

Patience wakes up panting. She's in her bedroom lying under a fluffy comforter. The sun is shining through slats in the blinds. Her alarm clock beeps for 5:30 AM. On the knick-knack shelves past the bed are photos and a few trophies. The room looks like it's been designed by a professional decorator and is impersonal.

Later, Patience walks briskly into her dad's office, dressed, with garish makeup. Her dad is at the computer.

"You working from home?" she asks.

"Yes I am," James says. "How'd you sleep?"

Patience says, "I had a nightmare... Grandma was there."

"It's just a dream, baby, don't worry about it," James says.

Patience doesn't say anything.

"Don't give me any of that. Give Papa a hug," James says.

Patience hugs him and then turns around to walk out.

"Have a good day at school!" James calls out.

Patience smiles at him and leaves.

 **Atlanta, Georgia. Gas 'n Sip.**

Dean's outside, on the phone with Sam. Jody walks inside the Gas 'n Sip.

"We're working on it," Sam says. In the background, Jack is drinking a mug of hot chocolate, chasing the giant marshmallow with his tongue, a full plate of breakfast in front of him.

"You do that. I'll check in after we talk to Missouri's son," Dean says.

"Let-"

Inside the Gas 'n Sip, the 6 am news blares on the overhead TV:

"A tragedy in an Omaha suburb, Erica Foster has the story…"

Jody gets two cups of coffee and tells the young cashier, "$60 on pump one," - the clerk immediately hits it- and she slots a credit card into the reader.

She glances up at the TV:

"There have been 2 murders in the last 24 hours, both at the same address. The latest victim was found when her body was seen through the windows of this business in a suburban neighborhood of Omaha. Police are not releasing the victim's name at this time. We'll keep you updated as the investigation continues, this is Erica Foster, Channel 12 news." The screen goes back to the TV anchors, who say, "And now, here's the traffic report. For commuters on..."

The young cashier looks up at the TV and says, "That's creepy stuff."

"Yeah," Jody says, looking at the cashier. "Creepy." She takes the credit card and walks out of the store.

Inside the Impala, Jody shows Dean a photo of the crime scene with Missouri's body.

Dean hands the phone back to Jody. He slams his fist lightly on the Impala's steering wheel.

Jody looks concerned.

"She knew and she sent us here," Dean says.

 **Atlanta, Georgia. A Mansion.**

The Impala rolls over the flat, cracked pavement to the narrow driveway of a small mansion in the wealthy neighborhood of Buckhead.

Jody stares at the mansion. "How do you want to play this?"

"Straight," Dean says.

Through the glazed glass, James watches Dean and Jody walk to the front door. Dean knocks.

James opens the door.

"James Taylor?" Dean says.

"Yes," James says.

"Missouri sent us about a wraith," Dean says.

James tries to slam the door shut, but Dean holds the door open.

"Whatever game you're playing, I'm not interested," James says.

"Missouri died last night," Jody says. She takes her badge out of her pocket and shows it to James. "Around 9:00 PM."

"No … I..." James says.

"James, I need you to listen to me. The thing that killed her is after you and your daughter," Jody says, putting her badge away. "Let's talk about this." She steps forward and she and Dean enter the house. Dean closes the door behind them.

 **Madison Central High School**

Ronson and Patience walk down the hallway of their school. Ronson is carrying a volleyball.

"How was practice?" Patience asks.

"Great, you know, if you joined the team, you too could get here at 6 AM to practice."

Patience shakes her head. "When would I find the time?" They stop at her locker.

"Ahmed likes you," Ronson says with a smirk.

"He's failing chemistry," Patience says.

"Oh … give me patience for ... the pettiness of princesses…," Ronson says.

Patience laughs. "That's not even good. Zero out of a ten."

"I beg to differ, that's a two out of ten," Ronson walks away.

"Where you going?" Patience asks.

"I gotta hit the showers. See you in class," Ronson says.

Patience stops a moment, looking a little disturbed at the similarity of events to her vision. She puts her stuff away in the locker, then hears a whisper. "Patience."

Ronson's voice repeats: "gotta hit the showers, later."

Patience walks nervously down the hall, empty of other students. She flashes back to the vision that she had earlier that morning. Nothing happens for a bit. She walks back to her open locker, takes a binder and closes the locker.

The wraith stands there, his spine extended and a small smile on his face.

The wraith slams Patience against the wall of lockers. She drops the binder and pushes him off. He staggers back. He punches and she ducks. She grabs his spine and breaks it off. Blood oozes out of the wound and he groans, clutching his wrist.

Patience runs to the exit at the speed of a turtle. The wraith easily catches up with her and tackles her to the floor.

He whispers creepily in her ear, "This hurts. I'm going to enjoy making you wish I killed you fast-

 _Bang._

Blood appears in the wraith's left shoulder.

Dean and Jody are standing in the double doors to the exit. The wraith runs down the hallway.

"I got it," Dean says. He runs, following the wraith up U-shaped stairs, down a long hallway across the building, down U-shaped stairs, and outside into the parking lot, with a scattering of cars from early teachers and students.

Suddenly, a shadow on the ground. Dean dives out of the way of a blue van. The wraith swerves wildly through the parking lot, an early student sprints to get away. The blue van goes over the curb and grass onto the road, with horns honking from passing drivers.

The scene jumps. Jody talks to Patience in the hallway.

"How are you?" Jody asks.

Patience says, "I'm fine." She stands up. "He tried to stab me with that." She points to the spine, in a small puddle of blood on the yellow floor.

Jody crouches, puts on gloves from her back pocket, and picks up the spine, dropping it into a plastic bag. "Nice work," she says. "Your grandmother sent us here-"

"My grandmother," Patience says in disbelief.

"Yeah. A wraith is targeting you and your father," Jody says.

"What's a wraith?" she asks.

"It looks like a human and feeds on cerebrospinal fluid with a spine extending from the wrist, killing the victim. They're weak to silver and you can see their true form in mirrors. If a wraith touches you, it may be able to implant hallucinations," Jody finishes.

Patience stares at Jody.

Jody shrugs off the look. "Dean thought you'd be up to speed with the supernatural. Missouri was a psychic."

"Grandmother was a fraud who took advantage of people when they were in need. She doesn't care about me. She doesn't care about anyone except herself. She abandoned our family, right after mom died," Patience says heatedly.

"I don't know her past," Jody says. "But she sent us here to protect you." She handles the spine.

Patience looks at it.

"Why would it target me or my papa?" Patience asks.

"It enjoys the taste of psychics," Jody says.

"That's crazy. No. I get deja vu sometimes, but that's normal," Patience says.

Dean jogs up to Jody and Patience. "Lost him," Dean says. "He's in a blue van, I got the license plate."

Jody nods. "I'll call it in," and takes out her phone.

"Let's get you home," Dean says to Patience.

 **The Bunker. Kitchen.**

Sam puts the finishing touches on a small aquarium on the kitchen counter. Jake and Donatello are at the kitchen table. Sam scoops the fish into an improvised miniature aquarium in a glass bowl. "Ready."

Donatello carries his plate to the sink.

Sam puts the aquarium bowl on the kitchen table in front of Jack. Donatello looks on from the kitchen sink.

Sam prepares himself, then says, "Fulfil your destiny," Sam says. "Kill the wrasse! Push the bowl off the table."

The colorful fish floats in the bowl.

"You don't really want me to kill it," Jack says. "That's why you put the aquarium up there and made a mini aquarium in that bowl."

"I know. Use your imagination," Sam says. "Imagine me, in your head, wanting you to kill it."

Jack stares at the bowl.

"Let me try," Donatello says. "Kill the wrasse! It's your destiny. Do it for God!"

Jack glares. He says, "It doesn't feel like you're in my head. I can't practice resisting you if you don't want me to do it!"

"I drove to Wichita to get the fish and aquarium, a very specific breed that Sam could summon up ill-feelings for," Donatello says. "Why don't we try again. At least, one more time."

Jack focuses on the glass bowl.

"Ah yes, manipulation is much easier now that I'm soulless," Donatello says. "I feel Mr. Rogers is ambiguous in these instances, since it's for your own good."

Sam and Jack look at him.

"Focus, Jack," Donatello says, unconcerned.

 **Atlanta, Georgia. A Mansion.**

Patience and her dad face off. Dean and Jody stand back.

"Is this true?" Patience asks.

"Yes," James says.

"You said she was fake! That she abandoned us! ...That my dream wasn't real!"

"When your mom got sick … Missouri said that she would get better … and then she died … and Missouri said that the future is not set in stone. When I needed her the most, she failed," James says.

"This whole time-"

"A life controlled by visions, moving across country because of a dream... what we did, the dangers we faced - set us apart. And it's a hard life, Patience. I didn't want that for you," James says.

"But what if that's the life I'm meant to live?" Patience says.

"Patience, we're going to visit your mother's family while Dean and Jody handle their wraith. Pack your things…. Now."

Patience leaves.

Jody eyes James. "It might be safer to stay here."

"No. No, we're not getting involved. This wraith business is yours and Missouri's," James says. "We're leaving."

Upstairs in Patience's bedroom, she looks at a photo of herself and her dad, and then takes out a large brooch.

The air shimmers. In a vision, James and Missouri face off. An older Patiences watches a young Patience at the grave. James says, "I need to leave. I'm the only one Patience has. I have to take care of her."

Missouri says, "No, James. She has me." Missouri walks to the young Patience and gives her the brooch. "Baby, I got something for you." She hands Patience the brooch. "I promise you, no matter what happens, no matter where I am, I will always look out for you."

The vision shimmers again. Patience appears in Dede's house. She stands by and watches as Missouri finishes the phone call with James. Missouri sighs. She texts Dean and Jody the address and then takes her purse, and puts it on the shallow shelves behind a hidden panel in the wall.

The vision continues. Missouri leaves the room, time passes, then she reenters the room. She mixes herbs and a powder together into water. She speaks to the air instead of where Patience is standing. "Patience, I'm so sorry to leave you like this, but out of all the futures I've seen, this is the best one."

Missouri drinks the concoction and goes into the front room to wait. The wraith enters Dede's house.

His smirk and footsteps echo loudly. The wind blows. Patience shivers. "Grandma, why is it cold?"

The vision ends. Patience opens her eyes. The window is open and the wraith is standing behind her, his arm snaking around her neck. He chokes her out.

Downstairs, Jody says, "I'll check on her." She walks up the stairs and into Patience's room, "Patience!" she calls out, then checks the window as Dean and James run up to meet her.

James shouts, "Patience!"

In the study, James takes out a box, and gets a bag of divination stones. He spreads a paper map over the floor and rolls the stones. "Missouri taught me how to find her. This will work. Patience, Patience, Patience..."

 **The Bunker. Library.**

Jack is at the table, staring at the fish. The fish floats.

"Let's take a break," Sam suggests.

"Thank goodness," Donatello says. "That wasn't working at all. I'm going to nip out and grab a bite to eat. One health food meal was enough for today. Want me to pick up anything for you?"

Sam and Jack look at Donatello. Jack looks at Sam.

"Um … sure," Sam says.

"I'll call you when I get to Smith Center," Donatello quickly walks out.

Jack gets up, relieved, but while Sam carefully puts the fish back in the tank, Sam says, "There's a few books that helped me a lot. And you should keep a journal to track what works and take notes. It helps," Sam says.

"Okay," Jack says.

 **Abandoned House.**

Patience is tied to a chair in an abandoned house. Sunlight comes in through chinks in the walls.

"You're awake," the wraith says.

The wraith saunters over to Patience.

"I used to haunt mental wards. No one misses them when they're gone. In fact, their parents and family are relieved to stop paying for their stay. I'm doing the world a service. And then one day, I drank from a psychic. He was amazing. And once I got a taste, schizophrenics weren't good enough anymore." A regrown spine, a little thicker than the previous one, slides out of his sleeve. "You're a keeper. The spice of life. I'm going to add a little aperitif to every meal for a long, long time."

"I'm not psychic," Patience bluffs. "You're wasting your time."

"Hmm. Your granny thought you were. I saw it when I ate her. Guess it's time for a little taste," the wraith says.

 _Thump._

The wraith runs. Dean, Jody, and James jog into the room. Dean has his gun out. James stops by Patience, while Dean and Jody run further in the sunlit-shadowy space.

"Don't worry baby, I've got you," James says, kneeling by Patience's chair. "I found you with the lithomantic stones, I'll teach you, when we get back."

 _Crunch._

James stills.

 _Squish._

"Papa?" Patience says.

James falls over. The wraith is behind him, smiling, holding a knife.

"Papa!" Patience screams. "Papa! Papa!"

Dean and Jody run back as the wraith disappears.

Jody comes on the scene first. The wraith attacks her from behind. He stabs her in the stomach. Jody gasps and falls.

The wraith leaves to hunt Dean. Jody lies very still on the floor as Patience pants, her chest heaving.

The wraith surprises Dean, punches him in the stomach and stabs him. Dean falls, dead.

The vision wavers.

Patience wakes up. She's tied to the chair in the basement. The wraith smirks at her. "You're awake," he says.

 _Thump._

The wraith runs. Dean, Jody, and James enter the room. Dean has his gun drawn.

"Patience, baby," James says, immediately starting to untie her.

Dean and Jody jog past, chasing the wraith..

"Don't worry, baby, I've got you," James says.

 _Crunch._ James stills.

"Papa!" Patience screams. "Move!"

James turns and the wraith's knife slashes James' side. James rolls away on the floor, groaning in pain. The wraith disappears.

Jody comes back into the room.

"Behind you!" Patience screams.

Jody turns. She draws a silver dagger and slashes at the wraith. He grapples Jody and smashes her against a wood support beam and then a pile of boxes, twisting her hand. The silver dagger flies out her numb hand and lands on the floor.

"Dean! Help!" Patience screams loudly. "Help!"

Dean runs back into the room. The wraith leaves Jody and Dean shoots the wraith twice in the chest, and draws a silver knife, then the wraith grapples Dean. Jody gropes for the silver dagger on the floor, while James moans. Dean and the wraith shift positions, equally matched in strength. Jody stabs the wraith with the silver dagger in the back, behind the sternum, piercing the wraith's heart.

Dean checks that the wraith is dead and then lets the wraith fall to the ground. Jody holds onto the support beam to stay upright. Patience watches. Dean sheaths the angel blade, gets his gun and then takes out his boot knife and quickly cuts through the ropes around Patience.

Jody turns around as Patience rushes to James, crying out, "Papa!"

James moans and tries to sit up. He touches the bloody patch on his side.

 **The Bunker. Kitchen. Library.**

Sam is making smoothies in the kitchen. His laptop is open to a security feed of the library, where Jack is sitting at a table, pecking at a laptop, entering his training log.

The blender whirrs.

Suddenly, Jack's not there in the security feed.

Sam runs to the Library. "Jack." He looks around the room. Jack is hiding in a corner behind a bookshelf, huddled, holding his knees, much like he was when hiding in the closet after being born.

"I know it's not fun," Sam says.

"It's the opposite of fun," Jack says.

"I've seen you throw people across the room," Sam says. "You threw me and Dean across the room, opened a Gate to Hell. Once, when I was trapped and Dean needed me to save him, I moved a heavy bookcase with my mind," Sam says.

"You did?" Jack asks.

"Yeah, never did it again - consciously - but it was there. I had visions. When I … drank demon blood, I trained myself to destroy demons, started easy, with backup, and then went after stronger demons and destroyed more of them. That's what worked for me."

"It's not working for me," Jack says.

"We'll find a way," Sam says. "Some of your powers might manifest when you're in need."

"What if I'm evil. And my powers only come out to do wrong things," Jack says.

"No," Sam almost laughs. "Why would you think that?"

"It'd make sense."

"When I look at you, that's not what I see," Sam says.

"Dean sees it. That's why he said he'd kill me."

"He what?" Sam asks.

"And maybe he should. Mom said I could be good. That I had the choice to good, that it was up to me. But she's dead because of me. I've only been born a week," Jack says. "I've already hurt people. I've already done bad things. And no matter how hard I try, I can't do the stupid things you want me to. So, I must be evil, like Lucifer."

"Jack, listen." Sam crouches by Jack. "Asmodeus tricking you. Dean… none of that is your fault. If you think the training exercises are stupid, that's what's doing it."

"Really?" Jack asks.

"Really," Sam says. "We will find a better way, training that works for you."

Jack looks at Sam. He uncurls a little.

"Good, come on," Sam tentatively gives Jack a hug as Jack stands up.

"Sam, why are you being so nice to me?"

"...Because... I know what it feels like when the people you love, turn away from you. To feel like there's this darkness inside of you, that there's a destiny laid out for you, that you don't want to be a part of. You're not evil, Jack. You don't have to be."

 **Atlanta, Georgia. Outside of a mansion.**

Dean and Jody lean against the Impala. Patience walks out of the house.

"Good work in there," Dean says.

"Thanks … for everything," Patience says.

"Given any thought to the future?" Jody asks.

"I don't know. Papa says he's fine, but I'm skipping school today," Patience says. "And, he promised to teach me the lithomantic stones."

"Well, if you have more visions … you have our number," Dean says. "Give us a call." He makes to get in the car and Patience walks back to the house.

"Patience, wait." Jody calls out. "My foster daughter .. Claire .. she's a hunter. I didn't want her to join the life, but she did and it's ... right for her…. If you ever need someone to talk to or someplace to go, I'm here for you," Jody says.

"Thanks," Patience says. She hesitates, then pulls Jody into a hug. "I'll call you," she says.

Jody smiles and walks back to the Impala.

 **Omaha, Nebraska. Dede's House.**

It looks like Jody and Dean have been searching the house/business. There's a partly filled cardboard box by Dean's feet.

"You need help here, you give me a call," Jody says.

Dean nods. "Yeah. Thanks, we owe you one."

Jody pats him on the shoulder, and leaves.

Dean searches the room where Missouri called James. He sniffs the bowl that Missouri drank from, puts it in the cardboard box, and searches the room. He spots the hidden panel, looks at the mechanism, and opens it. He takes out Missouri's purse, looks at it a long moment, and then takes out a carved box and places both in the cardboard box, cleaning out the shelves behind the hidden panel.

Later, Dean leaves the house, gets in the Impala, and drives away.

 **The Bunker. Map Room.**

Sam's sitting almost in the dark, with his laptop on the map table. The door opens and Dean walks down the metal stairs carrying a cardboard box.

"How was it? Jody told me about Missouri," Sam says while Dean.

"Yeah. How's the kid, did he go Dark side yet?" Dean asks as he walks. He puts the cardboard box on the map table.

"Nope. But he is messed up ... after you said you'd kill him," Sam says.

Dean rolls his head. "It wasn't exactly like that."

"And how, exactly, was it?" Sam says.

"I told him the truth. You think you can use him to save Mom, but I know how this is going to end and this ends bad," Dean says.

Behind a doorway, Jack is sitting in the dark, holding his knees, listening.

"I didn't end bad," Sam says, getting up from the chair. "When I was one of the freaks. When I was drinking demon blood. When dad told you to kill me if I was going Dark side."

"Come on, man, that's totally different."

"Was it? Because you could have put a bullet in me. Dad told you to kill me and you didn't. You saved me. So help me save him," Sam says.

"That's different. You deserved to be saved. He doesn't."

"Of course he does," Sam says vehemently.

"Look, I know you think you can use him like an interdimensional can opener, and maybe you can. But maybe we open that door and maybe, just maybe ... Lucifer comes back in with Mom," Dean says angrily. "So if you want to pretend we can fix this, fine. But I can hardly look at him. All I see is everybody we've lost."

"Mom chose to take that shot at Lucifer!" Sam says.

"What about Cas, huh?" Dean says.

"Lucifer stabbed him in the back. That's not on Jack," Sam says.

"He whammied him, from inside the womb," Dean shouts. "You might be able to forget about it, but I can't!"

"Castiel," Jack whispers. His eyes glow orange like the corona of the sun.

In a dark space, Castiel lies face-down on a floor of nothing. Jack's voice comes across in a whisper: "Castiel."

Castiel's eyes open.

 **The Alternate Universe.**

Michael wrenches Lucifer upright and lets him go.

Lucifer backs away a step. "Aren't you the merciful one," he sneers.

"This," Michael gestures at the desolation on their earth, "Is not the paradise that was foretold. When hunters," he sneers, "closed Hell and demons were expelled onto earth, we destroyed them. The earth was … ravaged. Our powers together may be enough to restore it."

"Together," Lucifer smirks.

"Yes. Together, with the Host as we did when we beat back the Darkness and cast it out of our universe." Michael looks at Lucifer. "It did not happen thus in _your_ universe."

"No," Lucifer says. "And where was God in all of this?"

"God created us and gave us our orders," Michael says. "Was it not so in yours?"

"Ah … no. He stayed and watched … your universe is ...," Lucifer says.

Mary eyes the two angels as she hides behind the crooked house. She looks up at a pillar and scratches through her skin, inscribing the sigils on herself.

Lucifer looks around. "...not a pocket universe, no …. Your angel powers come together into a greater whole," Lucifer speculates.

"Of course," Michael says.

"Ah, well then. I accept your offer ... on the condition that you send me and the human back to my universe immediately after restoring your universe, with no harm to me … or to her," Lucifer says. He looks and sees that Mary is gone. "Damn her. Wait, there is no hell to damn her to," he smirks.

Michael looks at Lucifer, "I accept your terms, brother. Come. I will send angels to find your human." He clasps Lucifer's arm and they disappear.

The End.

#Note: Missed Mary/Lucifer and didn't like that Donatello left or something off-screen. A lot of scary moments and tons of awesome fight scenes in this episode, but Sam and Dean's dialogue felt a little wacky. Love the confrontation Sam has with Dean. Love the six-pack thumping on the counter in the gas 'n sip and the visions, like when Patience closes her locker and the wraith is standing there, and Sam keeping tabs on Jack by laptop and then seeing he's gone and running to find him.

How were the changes? I cut the last fight scene with the wraith and Dean, even though it was awesome, because it was weird that Dean didn't go back earlier, when he maybe should have heard what was going on, since he heard Patience yelling to warn him. I guess I will back edit to match with canon because of adding in a Lucifer/Mary scene that won't match.

Backedited - Dean's conversation with Sam about Jack, why Dean doesn't think they should open the portal again.


	4. The Big Empty

Season 13, Episode 4: The Big Empty in story form with minor canon divergence, minimal changes this episode.

 **Teaser** : flashbacks to the previous episodes in the season. Castiel opening his eyes.

 **NOW:** **The Big Empty.**

"Hello?" Castiel says as he walks.

His voice echoes back, 'Hello, hello, hello."

Castiel continues to wander through the darkness.

Water surges on the 'floor' and forms into a human figure.

"I know you're there," Castiel says in a low voice. "I can feel you."

"Hello," a smirking Castiel materializes to one side.

Castiel turns to face the creatures and shrinks away from it. "What are you?"

"Oh, just your friendly neighborhood cosmic entity," 'Castiel' says in a creepy voice.

"Why do you look like me?" Castiel asks.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes. If I show up in my real form, and you freak out, rip out your own eyes, etcetera. That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it, for both of us," the entity says.

"What is this place?" Castiel asks.

"You see, before God and Amara, what was there?"

"Nothing," Castiel says.

"Yes, that's right, nothing. Nothing but Empty. And you are soaking in it. Angels, you all come here, when you die."

"Here," Castiel says, turning and looking. He trembles as the entity gets close.

"Yes, sleeping an endless, peaceful sleep. You know, I. I was sleeping too. Hey, since we're pals, there's something I gotta know, I just gotta ask. Hmm, why are you awake? Cause, fun fact, in all of forever, nothing ever wakes up here…. And when you woke up, I woke up, and I don't like waking up. It's not my time. So, what's up, smart guy?" the entity snarls.

"I don't know," Castiel says.

"Well, think!"

"Perhaps Sam and Dean made a deal," Castiel offers.

"No. No, no, no. Not with me, and I'm the only one who has any pull here. So, think harder! Rack that perky little brain of yours," the entity jabs Castiel in the forehead unkindly.

"Don't touch me," Castiel pleads.

"Okay, fine, I'll rack it for you," the entity says, raising one hand, he places it on Castiel's head. Castiel screams and sinks to the ground, with the entity's hand clamped on his forehead.

 **SUPERNATURAL** **Madison, Wisconsin**

It's night. A man in a suit briskly enters a luxurious house. He walks across the room, turns on a light and puts down a black leather case with a thump.

"Hi," a woman in a summer dress stands in front of the fireplace.

"Erica!" the man says.

"Aren't you going to say hi?" she says, walking up to him.

"Hi," he says, with a smile.

"I missed you," she runs a hand on his shoulder, then moves to kiss him. She shoves a large kitchen knife into his stomach.

"Aagh." The man falls to the ground, dead.

She walks out the door.

 **The Bunker. Map Room.**

Dean enters, carrying a bag of takeout. "Hey."

Sam's sitting at the map table, below the entrance. He looks at Dean. "I'm researching a case."

Dean walks down the stairs and looks over Sam's shoulder.

"A murder in Madison, police say it was a home invasion." The man in the suit's face shows on Sam's laptop. "But a neighbor claims that she saw the vic's dead wife leave the crime scene."

"I'll check it out," Dean says.

"I thought we'd all go, together," Sam says.

Donatello wanders into the room, heading for the takeout bags. "It'll be a good experience, and of course, I can't leave Jack. Research on Asmodeus has turned up absolutely nothing useful."

"We're not reennacting adventures in babysitting the Antichrist!" Dean says.

"Dean, we can't hide him forever," Sam says.

"Yeah, we can," Dean says.

"It's not working. He's not learning to control his powers. He's just binge watching Netflix all day," Sam says.

"Yes, it is working. Because, as long as he's here, he's not out there doing God knows what," Dean says.

Donatello digs into his burrito, watching Sam and Dean argue with a lack of concern.

Sam says, "Dean, Jack needs to get out. He's a good kid, he is, just, give him a chance, please. For me."

Later, Sam walks down a hallway in the Bunker and knocks on the door. "Jack?"

Sam opens the door. "Hey..." he walks over to Jack sitting cross-legged on the bed in front of a laptop. "Rogue One, huh?"

"It said, because you watched Return of the Jedi," Jack says.

Sam sits on the bed. "What did you think about Return of the Jedi?"

"I'm Luke, and Lucifer is Darth Vader, and you're Yoda," Jack says while staring at the screen. "I haven't decided who Dean and Donatello are."

"Huh," Sam says with a funny expression at equating himself to Yoda. "Hey. You remember when I told you what Dean and I do? Saving people, from um monsters."

"You kill monsters because you're the good guys," Jack says flatly.

"Right, right, and we've got a case, so, I thought you might want to come along," Sam says.

Jack doesn't say anything.

"Jack, I really think this would be good for you. You know, maybe a change of scenery might-"

"Get my powers working again?" Jack says.

"Yeah, maybe," Sam says. "Besides demons coming after you…. When you were born, it ripped a hole in reality. Like a… like a door from this world to another. To a really bad place, where the apocalypse happened. So Dean and Cas and I, and … Crowley, we closed that door, but our mom, Mary, she's trapped on the other side."

Jack pauses the video and looks at Sam.

"If we can get your powers back, maybe we can open that door, maybe…," Sam sighs and looks away.

"You want to save your Mom," Jack says.

"Yeah, yeah, I do," Sam says. "It's worth a shot. I should have told you earlier, but it's a lot, and um….

"Dean's still angry with me," Jack says.

"Yeah, I know. Dean … if he spends time with you, he'll come around. Let's go be the good guys," Sam says.

Jack nods and gets off his bed.

 **The Big Empty**

"What did you do to me?" Castiel asks from the floor.

"I read your mind."

"Why did I wake?" Castiel asks.

"Hmm, that I won't tell you. No. It is time to sleep."

Castiel struggles to sit upright. "Why-"

"I want you to shut up! I want - hmmm - having you awake is like having a gnat fly up my nose and buzz there."

"Having me awake, irritates you," Castiel says.

"If you can't sleep. I can't sleep. And I like sleep. I _need_ sleep."

"Then send me to Earth," Castiel says, looking up, barely holding himself upright, canted sideways.

"Oh, I should, should I?"

"Yes," Castiel says.

"Or I throw you so deep into the Empty that you can't bother me further."

"That wouldn't work, or you would have done it already," Castiel says.

"Pretty smart, pretty smart, dumb little angel." He crouches by Castiel. "No, no. You don't want to go back."

"I do, Jack needs me," Castiel says.

"I've tiptoed through your little tulips," he taps the top of Castiel's head obnoxiously. "There is nothing for you back there. Here. Let me show you," he grabs Castiel's face in both hands.

A horrible flashback of all the worst things in Castiel's memory starts and Castiel screams.

 **Madison, Wisconsin. Day.**

Summer flowers bloom in front of an idyllic suburban neighborhood. The Impala rolls to a stop. Sam and Dean are in the front in fancy FBI suits. Donatello and Jack are in the back.

Jack flips through fake IDs. "Agent Bonham, Agent Seger, Special Agent Anderson, these are you?"

"Yeah, sometimes," Sam says, looking out the window in his FBI suit.

"Alright, here we go," Dean looks at a police report. "Victim Wes Bailey, his wife Erica Bailey died 6 months ago. Sudden cardiac arrest. The question is, what is she? Did she come back, or is it a shapeshifter?" Dean says.

"People, come back?" Jack says.

"When a person dies and their soul can't move on-" Sam starts to say.

"They're called ghosts," Dean cuts in. "And hanging around makes 'em angry."

"Question is, since when do ghosts kill somebody and walk out the front door?" Sam says.

"You told me Sixth Sense was fictional and didn't happen," Jack says.

"It is fictional. Some fictional stories are closer to what happens than others," Sam says.

Donatello takes out a battered paperback copy of one of the 'Supernatural' series from his briefcase and hands it to Jack. "Give these a try," he gives Jack a look, like keep this a secret or this stuff is great. Sam and Dean don't appear to notice.

"So maybe it's a revenant," Dean says to Sam.

"The world's never seemed more dangerous than when I'm sitting here next to you, yet at the same time I feel oddly safe," Donatello comments.

"Huh. There's our witness," Dean looks out the window.

A redheaded woman dressed in purple and wielding a garden hose, is watering plants outside. She's just moved into view.

"Jack, we're gonna talk to her and check out the crime scene, stay here with Donatello," Sam says.

Later, Sam stands next to the witness, towering over her. "Now, you're sure it was his wife?"

"I've lived next to Erica and Wes for six years. I watered her plants every time they went on a vacation," she says plainly.

"Did you notice anything unusual about Erica when you saw her?" Sam asks.

"She was wearing a very light dress," the witness says. "And she walked down the street," the woman gestures, "And didn't close the front door. I was shocked. That's not like her at all. And later, when I took out a bag of trash, I saw their front door was still open, so I went over, and that's when I saw Wes' body."

Sam looks at the witness. "Did you notice anything unusual about the body?"

"No, I left and called the police," she says.

"What about that night, did you notice anything else, flickering lights, cold spots, any detail you can remember could help us," Sam says.

"...I … I think a street light did flicker. … Maybe," the witness says.

"Right, if you remember anything, anything at all, please get in touch with me," Sam smiles. "If I could take your number, in case I have follow up questions, that would be very helpful." He glances at the car. Jack is reading and Donatello is looking at his phone.

Sam puts the witness' number in his phone. "Thank you," he says with a smile.

Dean gives her a grimace, and then they walk to the house.

Sam checks the blood spot on the carpet and Dean gets out an EMF meter.

"Nothing," Dean says. He nods, looking up, and Sam agrees silently. They split up, Dean searches upstairs while Sam searches downstairs.

Sum turns around from searching the study. Jack is crouching by the large blood spot in the beige carpet, while Donatello watches complacently. Jack reaches out to touch it-

"Jack!" Sam says. "Donatello!"

"We got bored waiting in the car and decided to assist in the investigation," Donatello says. "Don't worry! We waited until the neighbors were looking the other way, especially that neighbor you were talking to."

Dean comes down the stairs. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm just looking," Jack says, crouched by the blood stain.

"Don't touch," Dean says sharply.

"It's okay, Dean," Sam puts out his hand. "Jack, did you find anything?"

"That," Jack says, pointing at the blood stain.

Dean rolls his head.

"Did you get anything?" Sam asks Dean..

Dean shakes his head, no. "You?"

"No," Sam says.

"Let's go check out her grave. Come on," Dean says.

 **Cemetery.**

A full moon shines over a grave in a cemetery.

"Hey, you wanted to be helpful, dig," Dean hands a shovel to Jack, then walks away.

Sam hands his shovel to Donatello and follows Dean. "What's up with you. You're acting like dad. His orders worked on you, but they didn't work with me." He talks to Dean's back.

Dean turns around.

"That's not the way we're gonna get through to Jack," Sam says.

"Look, you wanted the kid here, he's here. But I'm not gonna hold his hand and tuck him in at night." He waves his hand at Jack. "And the kid can dig, so give him that."

Sam walks back to the grave. With a look, Donatello cedes the shovel to him and Sam digs into the ground. "Someone's dug through this recently," Sam says.

Dean takes over Jack's shovel and feels the dirt.

Finally, they reach the coffin. It's charred. Inside, are ashes.

"Ah, a Hunter has been here and burned the body," Donatello pronounces.

Sam holds out a hand to Jack and helps him out of the hole.

"Whoever did this, didn't finish the job," Dean says.

"We'll do more research," Sam grimaces.

"My mother, could she be a ghost?" Jack asks.

"No we um, we burned the body," Sam says. "That usually prevents ghosts from staying."

"That's right, what gets salted and burned, stays dead," Dean says, as they get into the Impala.

 **Route 15. Night.**

A car's tires spin on the road and the car pulls over to the side. An elderly woman gets on her cell phone. "I blew a tire, I'm on Route 15."

"Okay, no problem, we'll get you -"

The grandmother sees her grandson sitting on the back seat. She puts down the cell phone, the operator's voice continues but the words are not distinguishable.

"Scotty?"

The little boy nods. "Mama, aren't you going to say hi?"

"Oh, baby!" she reaches back, then the view cuts away and blood spatters the inside of the car.

 **Route 15. Dawn.**

Jack and Donatello sit in the Impala, reading the 'Supernatural' books as Sam talks to a police officer. Through the trees, the sun is rising.

"Thanks," Sam says, fiddling with his phone.

"Get anything?" Dean asks as they fall into step.

"Get this, the vic was on the phone to roadside assistance when she died. Operator said she was talking to someone named Scotty," Sam says. "Here's the recording."

The recording of the roadside assistance operator plays with sounds of snapping bones and a scream quickly cut short.

"One of the cops said he used to play with the vic's son, Scotty, who drowned in '96," Dean says.

"Coincidence?" Sam asks.

"As coincidental as Dr. Sexy coincidentally falling into the arms of sexy anesthesiologist Dr. Brown for the twentieth time," Dean says.

Sam grimaces.

"It's not as good as it used to be," Dean says sadly.

As they finish talking, Sam and Dean walk through the busy scene to stand in front of the victim's car and look at the blood-spattered windows.

Dean turns on the EMF reader and checks it, it stays silent.

"So..." Sam says, taking out gloves from his pocket.

"...aside from getting dead, what did Gloria Simon and Wes Bailey have in common?" Dean asks.

Sam opens the bloody driver-side door and looks inside.

 **Madison Police Station. Day.**

Sam walks out of the police station, past a stand of fuchsia Gerbera daisies, carrying a file. "Where's Jack and Donatello?" he says in an annoyed voice, while clearly seeing that across the street at at hot dog truck, Jack waits in line and Donatello watches from a bench. It's a busy, sunny day in the vibrant town center.

"Across the street, food run," Dean says casually, glancing up then back at his phone. "No one's owning up to the salt and burn here." He looks up, "and no sign of a ghost or a hunt in the past six months."

"Dean, they're not our interns and Donatello's soulless. We need to keep an eye on them," Sam says.

Dean eyes Jack comedically. "I can see them," Dean says.

"Mmm," Sam grumbles his disagreement.

"The kid keeps staring at me," Dean says.

"Yes, he wants you to stop threatening to kill him," Sam hisses. He jaywalks across the busy street to Donatello and Dean follows him. Jack is waiting in line, listening to the man in front of him argue with the hot dog seller.

"Ah, Sam. What did you find?" Donatello asks.

Sam flips open the file and hands it to Donatello. "It's a grief journal, both vics had the same grief counselor," Sam says, "Mia Vallens, who apparently, assigns journaling as homework."

"Lucky us," Dean says.

Donatello looks at the file.

"I got the address," Sam says.

"Shrinks," Dean says.

"Are how healthy people deal," Sam finished for him.

"Sam you read this chicken scratch?" Donatello comments.

Dean takes the file with a look at Donatello. "Let's see how good ole Gloria was dealing: ...and now that I've achieved catharsis I can see the program works." Dean looks at Sam.

Sam raises his eyebrows and looks away.

"The program, come on, man, she's one kool aid away from Jonestown. What'd Wes' journal say?" Dean asks, flipping through the photocopied pages.

"More of the same, the last entries he wrote were all about catharsis," Sam says.

"Yeah, sure, who wouldn't like 'catharsis,'" Dean mocks.

Sam glances casually at Jack, talking to the hot dog seller.

"So, what else could this be, if it's not a revenant or a ghost," Donatello asks.

"Witches, shapeshifters," Dean says. "A spell."

"A curse," Sam says.

"Ah!" Donatello says. "So many options! Which do you think is the most likely?"

Sam and Dean look at each other.

"We need to do more research," Sam says.

"I'm betting on shapeshifter," Donatello says excitedly. "The first shapeshifter novel and the one with the bank and the mandroid were enjoyable reads."

Sam and Dean stare at Donatello.

"You been reading those books?" Dean demands.

"Now that I'm back in the midst of the action, as you might say, I thought I'd better brush up on supernatural history, although I think when I was soulled, I would have found the purple prose and the graphic sex scenes off-putting," Donatello says.

Sam and Dean give Donatello horrified looks.

"Luckily, that's no longer a problem," Donatello says. "Of course I read them with a grain of salt, seeing as they were fictionalized. I heard gossip there are unpublished novels, do you have any copies?"

"No!" Dean says firmly.

Jack comes up with hotdogs and drinks.

"Hey, Jack," Sam says, relieved to see him.

"What took you so long?" Dean says, taking a chili dog.

"The man in front of me wanted sriracha on his hot dog, but the hot dog seller didn't have any. He was very angry," Jack says, puzzled.

"Good story," Dean says, licking cheese sauce off the hot dog and getting sauerkraut on his nose. He blows the piece of sauerkraut off his nose. "Let's check out the 'grief counselor.'"

 **The alternate universe past the rift.**

Mary scrambles up the side of a grassy hill, and walks between two pillars. The grey lifts and a ring of angel-get-lost pillars surrounds a patch of woods. She looks up at the clear skies, down at the ground. She crouches to look: a footstep is visible in the grass at the right angle, stepping from the desolation behind, deeper into the woods.

She steps through the brush and finds a small cabin in a clearing, and hides while she watches the cabin.

 **Mia Vallens' business/residence.**

Sam, Dean, Donatello, and Jack sit in the Impala, watching a house, with an entrance up a steep set of stairs.

"Are you done?" Dean asks.

Sam glares. "No, we're not done."

"This is very dull," Donatello comments.

"You!" Dean looks in back and sees Jack reading a Supernatural book. "Stop reading that!" He reaches back and grabs the battered paperback from Jack, throwing it in Sam's footwell.

"Get out of the car, we're going in," Dean says.

Sam gives Dean a look, but gets out of the car. The cross the street

"Follow my lead," Sam says to Jack, as they walk up the stairs.

"The mystery doctor's gonna eat our livers with a side of fava beans and Chianti," Dean grumbles. He stops talking as soon as a man comes out of building, clutching a journal in a black leather case.

The awkward, bald man says, "Hello," as he walks through the group.

Jack's the only one who turns around and says, "Hello!" in an excited, happy voice to the man.

As they enter, the home still looks like a house, but has been redesigned into an upscale business.

A receptionist carrying a clipboard says, "Can I help you?"

"We're, uh, hoping to see the doctor," Sam says.

"I'm sorry, we only take patients by appointment," the man says. "I may have an opening in a few weeks."

"We just need a moment of her time," Sam says.

A woman appears on the staircase. "You lost someone recently?"

"Our mother," Sam says. "We're having a difficult time." He puts a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Mia Vallens," the woman says as she rushes to them to shake Dean's hand. He avoids it by shoving his hands into his pockets and smirking like a jerk.

"Dean," Dean says.

"I'm Sam, this is our little brother, Jack," Sam says, stepping in front of Dean and smiling.

Donatello reaches out and grasps the woman's hand. "I'm a ... friend, of Jack's grandfather."

Mia Vallens looks taken aback by Donatello, but she puts on a warm smile. The receptionist looks at them with a stone face.

"I see. Please, this way," Dr. Vallens says. "Your mother, she passed suddenly?"

"Yes, she did," Sam says.

Dr. Vallens enters a large sitting room, decorated beautifully with a white couch, and three white sofa chairs. Gauzy drapes soften the sunlight. "Mmm. Most of the people I see are in the same boat. It's sudden. No warning, no goodbye, no closure."

Dean gestures to Jack to sit down in the chair across from the couch, and closes the door. Dean sits on the other end of the couch from Sam. Sam and Donatello sits closest to Dr. Vallens.

"Right, yeah, pretty much the same for us," Sam says. "So... how does this usually work with your patients?"

"Usually, they just," Dr. Vallens opens up her hands and closes them, "Start talking about the person they've lost."

"Alright, well, Mom was great, now she's dead," Dean says.

"I see, and you're angry about it," Dr. Vallens says.

"Hell yeah, I'm angry," Dean glares at Sam. "I want to know what this catharsis business is, before I go on."

"What do you know about catharsis?" Dr. Vallens says.

"A patient of yours, Gloria Simon, mentioned it and referred us," Sam says.

"I don't talk about my patients. And I'm delighted she referred you, but she's not supposed to discuss individual aspects of the program that may not be the best method for other patients," Dr. Vallens says.

"Sure, um," Sam says. "But your process," Sam looks at Dean. "We wanted to know what it would involve before we continued."

"My program ... is a range of things, talk therapy, meditation, and hypnosis. You ever journal?" Dr Vallens says.

"Our dad did," Sam says. "We both do," he says, indicating Dean.

"They've had professional writers journal for them, in the past," Donatello interjects. "It's fascinating!"

Sam gives Donatello a look.

"Interesting," Dr. Vallens says. "W-"

"I've journaled ever since I was a little girl," Dean smirks.

"Dean. You think this shrink stuff is a load of crap, am I right?" Dr. Vallens says.

"How'd you guess?" Dean says with a smile.

"Then, why are you here?" Dr. Vallens says.

"Because, uh, we all agreed we'd give it a shot, right?" Sam says.

Jack nods.

"Right?" Sam looks at Dean.

Dean gives the doctor a smile. "I want to know what I'm getting into."

Dr. Vallens says. "I can't promise any specific technique will work for you, or that you will achieve catharsis, however, the program I've developed, over many years of working with patients with grief issues, has helped people immensely." She looks at Jack, Dean, and then back at Sam, avoiding looking at Donatello. "Catharsis is, when, under a hypnagogic state, a person may be able to see or hear their lost loved one and say goodbye."

"I see. And how long have you been doing grief counseling?" Sam asks.

"I've been practising here fifteen years. Now, tell me, why are you here to see me?"

"My brother, he's not uh, processing his grief," Sam says.

"Really. No, I'm good, Sam. With death, closure, the whole bottle of Jack," Dean says with a smirk.

"Are you," Sam says pointedly.

"Yeah, because I know that mom's dead and I know that she's not coming back," Dean says.

"Okay, I hear what you're saying…," Sam says.

"But you wish he'd be more open to discussion?" Dr. Vallens cuts in commandingly.

"Sure, exactly," Sam says, opening and closing his hands like Dr. Vallens did.

"Alright, this is a safe place, right Doc? My brother's delusional," Dean says.

"Dean," Sam says.

"You said you wanted to give this a shot," Dean says. "Here we go. He won't even admit that Mom's dead. Won't even admit it."

"Stop," Sam says quietly.

"Because if he admits it, it's real. If it's real, then he has to deal with it, and he can't handle that," Dean says nastily.

"I am handling it!" Sam snaps. "At least you had a relationship with Mom. Who would she always call? Who did she look to for everything!"

Dean looks away.

"You had that. I'm not going to accept that I'll never have that! I need some water," Sam gets up and races out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Sam looks in the reception area. No receptionist. Down the hall, the bathroom door is closed. There's a sign on a decorative chain, 'Please respect our privacy,' hanging across the stair. Sam steps over it and walks up. There's a splash of dried blood on the railing. He draws his gun.

In the bathroom, Sam sees blood on the shower curtain. He draws it aside and winces at the smell. There's skin and blood and teeth in the tub. He quickly leaves.

Back in the therapy room, the door closes behind Sam.

Dr. Vallens says, "Dean, you just upset your brother so much, he had to leave the room. What do you feel about that?"

Dean smirks at her, "Peachy."

"And Jack, look at him, he's terrified of you," Dr. Vallens says.

"No, no, we're simpatico, right kid?" Dean says.

"We're simpatico," Jack repeats woodenly, he looks at Dr. Vallens.

Dean smirks.

"Convincing," Dr. Vallens says. "You're angry, Dean."

"And?" Dean asks.

"And if you don't want to do anything about it, that's your business. But you're aiming that anger at everyone in your life." She looks at him. "But despite what you're saying, you came because your brother wanted you to and I honor that."

"And what happens," Donatello asks. "After catharsis takes place, if it does so at all."

"Then, we have a few sessions to reflect on the experience and wrap up the program. There is a long-term support group, that meets once a month. I'm not personally involved, but it is a resource available for you after you've completed the program," Dr. Vallens says, avoiding looking at Donatello.

"Fascinating," Donatello says.

"Doc, you got a problem with him?" Dean looks at her.

Dr. Vallens forces a smile as she looks at Donatello. "Soullessness is not a condition I can treat."

"Fascinating again! What do you know about my condition?" Donatello asks.

"Very little," Dr. Vallens says.

Sam walks back in the room, passes by Dean, and sits down on the end of the couch, near Dr. Vallens.

"I treated a soulless person over a year ago. There are limits to my grief program." She looks at Sam and Dean. "Sam, you and Dean have genuine grief issues. The program would help you come to terms with your loss."

Dean snorts.

"Dean, _your_ anger issues are a separate matter," Dr. Vallens says. "I can't recommend a qualified therapist you could speak to freely, but I can refer you to group therapy."

"What happened to the soulless person?" Sam asks.

"She continues to be soulless. We used a todo app to remind her to show more affection and care to her daughter," Dr. Vallens says tensely. "It allowed her daughter to heal, but the underlying condition remains." She glances at Donatello and Jack.

"Did she hurt you?" Jack asks.

Dr. Vallens nods. "Yes. She attacked me when I told her that I could not help her recover her soul. I haven't seen her in months. I'm sorry for your loss," Dr. Vallens says to Jack.

"No, no problem at all." Donatello responds.

"Have you met Hunters?" Sam asks.

Dr. Vallens says. "I suspected you were Hunters. If a patient told me that they planned a murder... I would report it to the police," she finishes.

Sam says, "And people who think about murder?"

Dean stares at Sam and Dr. Vallens while Donatello looks on curiously.

"I would feel it," Dr. Vallens says. "If you're here about Mr. Bailey, I don't know who killed him."

"Hmm. And you took steps to make sure it didn't happen again?" Sam says coolly.

"I … sent Tom to burn the corpse, in case it was a ghost," Dr. Vallens says.

"What if a patient avoided touching you?" Sam presses.

"No, in that case I would not have a psychic connection," Dr. Vallens says.

"And can you read the mind of another shapeshifter?" Sam asks, intent on Dr. Vallen's response.

"No. No, I can't do that," Dr. Vallens says.

"She's a shapeshifter?" Dean asks.

"Yes, I am," Dr. Vallens says.

Dean stands and whips out his gun, moving to the clear space to the side of the couch.

Dr. Vallens shrinks in her chair, holding up her hands.

"I read about shapeshifters, they are exceptionally deadly," Donatello says as he gets up and gestures Jack to stand in the corner furthest from Dr. Vallens. "Best to be cautious, even though she has been helpful and accommodating so far."

Sam looks annoyed, putting up a hand to calm down Dean. "Is one of your patients a shapeshifter?"

"Yes," Dr. Vallens says. "But, I won't be giving out the name. No one had any cause to harm Mr. Bailey. I see good people who have grief issues. They would not be involved in anything … a hunter would want to know about."

"Or Gloria Simon?" Sam asks.

"Gloria!" Dr. Vallens sounds distressed.

"She died last night, killed by a creature that looked like her son," Sam says.

"Why'd you kill them?" Dean asks.

"I … I didn't kill them. I would never harm my patients. It is a sacred trust-" Dr. Vallens stammers.

Sam looks at Dr. Vallens. "Is there anyone who would want to hurt your patients?"

"I … there is a shifter who might come after me. He liked hurting people. We met … when the Mother of All called us together. I hated what she made us do, but he enjoyed it. He enjoyed hurting people, he liked to ruin people's lives. He liked the look on their face when they'd lost everything. What I'm doing here, is, everything he would hate. The Alpha will not step in unless he attacks me directly, or attacks a child."

"Dr. Vallens, if you want your patients to live, we need your cooperation," Sam says.

She looks at them. "Yes, yes of course."

"I see. Who else has access to your office?" Sam says.

"Patients, but I'm here with them. Tom, my assistant. A cleaning company comes once a month," Dr. Vallens says.

"We'll set up surveillance. Do you live here?" Sam says.

"Yes, I do," Dr. Vallens says.

"Good," Dean says. "One less place to watch."

Outside Mia Vallens' business-residence, the sun is setting. Jack, Dean, and Tom walk to the Impala.

"Sam told me about the plan for your mother," Jack says. "I-"

"Well, Sam's plans don't always work out," Dean says curtly and hands Jack and Tom Donatello's suitcase, two heavy duffels, and a backpack. "Take these up to the house."

"Okay," Jack says, turning away. Tom takes the two duffels and walks back to the house.

A sound makes Jack look around. Dean says, "Quit dawdling and get your ass in the house."

Jack looks uncertain, turns back, and walks to the house.

Tom says, "Hurry up," and stands there, waiting for Dean. "Dr. Vallens doesn't have all day," he says snootily.

Next to the Dean standing up, Dean's crumpled body is partly hidden under the Impala, in the shadow of the car.

Shapeshifter Dean smirks and steps out from behind the Impala, putting a shotgun, a glass bottle, a propane torch, and a t-shirt into a small duffel and carrying it with him.

Inside Dr. Vallens' office, Sam sits next to Dr. Vallens and Donatello, looking through security footage of the front entrance, careful to avoid touching her.

"I'm sorry about Dean," Sam says.

She smiles stiffly at him.

"So, tell me. How exactly does this work with your patients?" Sam asks. "When you show up as their dead relative or loved one. What do they think?"

"I tell them it's a lucid dream that occurs under a hypnagogic state. What matters is they get to say goodbye," Dr. Vallens says. "People ruminate over an experience until it's resolved and once they've integrated the experience, they can let it go." She looks at him. "You never had a chance to say goodbye, did you."

"No, I didn't," Sam says. "And I hope I won't have to. She's trapped in another world, we don't know if she's dead or not." He pauses the video. It's the awkward man who left the house as they entered. He zooms in on the eyes, which flare in the camera. "So this is him?"

"Yes, that's John Driscoll, I started seeing him a week ago. Today was his second session. He's a shifter who recently lost his family," Dr. Vallens says.

"To Hunters?" Donatello asks.

"...Yes … I think so," Dr. Vallens says. "He hasn't been as forthcoming as many of my patients."

Inside the entryway, Jack drops Donatello's suitcase. Sam, Dr. Vallens, and Donatello come out to meet him and Tom. Dean stands in the doorway, partly hidden.

Tom undoes the chain blocking the stairway. "Let's go," he says to Dean.

"Thank you, Jack," Donatello says, taking his suitcase and walking upstairs.

Tom and Dean leave the house. Sam takes the bags and heads upstairs.

Jack approaches Dr. Vallens. "Doctor Vallens," he says. "Could I talk to you?"

"Yes, of course, this way," she puts a hand on Jack's shoulder and they walk into the sitting room.

Jack says, "Sam and Dean aren't my real brothers. Sometimes we lie. I'm still trying to understand." He takes out a laptop from his backpack. "My mother died when I was born." He starts to play Kelly Kline's video, then stops it. "I never met her. I… this is all I have. And I just … I need to… see her, just once. Please."

"Jack. I ...," Dr. Vallens says. She hugs him, and he gradually falls into her hug. "Close your eyes." "Why do you need your mom?"

"I'm afraid," he says.

"Oh Jack," Dr. Vallens speaks with Kelly Kline's voice. "Why are you afraid?"

Jack says, "Dean wants to kill me. Sam thinks I'm good, but ... I've hurt people. I didn't mean to. And I know I should feel bad and I tell Sam that I feel bad, but most of the time, I don't feel anything. And that's why I think, maybe, maybe I'm a monster."

"Oh Jack, it doesn't matter what you are. It matters what you do. Monsters and humans, they can do good in this world," Dr. Vallens says.

"You really believe that?" Jack asks.

"I do," Dr. Vallens says.

Jack opens his eyes.

Dr. Vallens smiles at him. She speaks in her own voice, "There is always hope, Jack."

 _Thump._

Dr. Vallens looks around. She gets up and Jack hesitantly follows her into the entryway. Sam and Donatello rush down the stairs.

Someone is banging on the front door. The door bursts open.

It's Dean.

Another Dean comes in and tackles Dean.

Dean and shifter Dean thrash on the floor as Sam draws his gun and aims at the struggling figures.

"Get back," Sam yells to Dr. Vallens and Jack.

Donatello and Dr. Vallens back away, but Jack shouts:

"No!" Jack says. "Stop!" he yells. Jack screams silently and waves of orange light lift up the two Deans and hold them in the air.

One of the Dean's turns into a different person.

Sam shoots, perforating the shifter with bullets. Dean and the shifter fall to the ground as Jack closes his mouth.

Dean rolls over with a silver knife in his hand and stabs the shifter in the heart.

"Tom!" Dr. Vallens says.

Sam runs out the door as Dean gets to his feet.

 **The Big Empty.**

The entity kicks Castiel, who is lying on the ground. "Wouldn't you like to stay here. Just lay down." He strokes a hand along Castiel's trench-coated side and back as Castiel slumps down even more. "Try to sleep. Infinite peace, yes, yes. No regrets. No suffering. No pain. Sleep. This is the perfect world that was promised to you."

Castiel seems to still. However, when the entity backs away, Castiel immediately rolls over and tries to get up.

The furious entity kicks Castiel, "I get angry when bad little angels won't go to sleep! Go! To! Sleep!" The entity punctuates his words with kicks that break Castiel's body. Castiel heals almost immediately.

"This will not help me sleep," Castiel says. "I am awake and I will stay awake."

"No, no, no, no!" The entity kicks Castiel again.

"Please, send me to Earth," Castiel says. "I have been called. I cannot sleep. I will not fall asleep."

 **A field.**

A lump on the dry grass looks like Castiel's trenchcoat. He stirs and gets up.

 **Mia Vallen's business/residence.**

Inside the house, Sam sits with Dr. Vallens in her office.

"You're the only therapist I know of, who knows about the supernatural world," Sam says. "If I wanted to talk to you-"

"No. I wouldn't have the impartial perspective," Dr. Vallens cuts in. "...to treat your issues. I need time to deal with my own grief. Later, another time, I may be able to."

"I understand," Sam says. He gets up and leaves, while Dr. Vallens watches him.

Sam joins Dean, Donatello, and Jack. They carry a large body-sized bag out to the Impala, putting it in the trunk.

Inside the car, Dean says, "Nice save."

"Thank you," Jack says.

The Impala drives away.

The image zooms out and appears on a computer monitor in an office. A man with a British accent says, "Another one."

"Watch her," a woman with a British accent says.

#Note: I like the big empty scenes and love the creepy entity Castiel. The scene in the front of the police station was funny. Backedited :(.


	5. Advanced Thanatology

Season 13, Episode 5: Advanced Thanatology, episode in story form with more canon divergence than usual, but it matches up in the end.

Teaser: Flashbacks to previous seasons and the past episode. Dean's voice: "This life, hunting monsters, there's no joy in it. There's nothing but pain, horror and death... "

 **NOW:** **Osage, Iowa**

Castiel walks out of the field and wanders onto a road. He walks into a small town.

He passes by a woman and asks, "Pardon me, may I borrow your phone to-"

She quickly walks away.

Castiel sighs. He walks on the road.

He asks again, a man who gets in his truck and says, "There's a pay phone down that way-" and zooms away.

Castiel trudges along. He finds a penny and picks it up.

 **Supernatural** **Grand Junction, Colorado**

A view through misty pine trees. Two boys walk up to a chain link fence. One of them gives something to the other, then climbs over the fence. The other teenager hands over the items, cameras blinking green, and then climbs over too.

"You got a full battery?" the first teen asks.

"Yup," the second teen says.

The approach the white houses. Their flashlights shine on the ground.

"We're gonna get so many hits," one teen says.

The second teen looks reluctant.

Their flashlights shine on signs saying: Dr. A. Meadows Mental Health Center. No Trespassing. Warning.

"Start recording," the first teen says.

The view is off their wobbly camera recordings. Both teens are carrying cameras in their hands. The first teen records the sign and looks around, while the second teen opens the door.

"I can't believe they left it unlocked," the second teen says.

"No one even owns this place," the first teen says. "Not after-"

"Don't start!" the second teen says.

"Oooh, Shawn is scared, scared of the guy who used to cut open people's skulls. No, seriously, he got arrested. All that is left, is this spooky haunted asylum," the first teen says dramatically.

They look around. The first teen, Evan, starts walking up the steps to a beautiful stained glass wall-to-wall window.

The second teen hesitates at the bottom.

"Come on," Evan says.

Their flashlights play over beds. "Where he kept his patients," Evan says.

They walk down a hallway.

"I don't wanna go in there," the second teen says.

"Don't be a little baby," Evan says.

The second teen walks into the room where dusty medical equipment is stack on shelves. There's an operating bed in one end of the room.

"Look at this," the second teen stops at a shelf of bird masks.

"Awesome," Evan says. He takes one. "Turn around," he says and puts it in the second teen's backpack.

A weird noise. The second teen starts running back.

"It's just a noise!" Evan follows him at a run.

A doctor wearing a bird mask and holding a drill waits for them in the entrance room. He's drilling into the second teen's head.

The second teen screams. The doctor turns to Evan and drills Evan. The second teen runs outside. Evan screams.

 **The Bunker. Kitchen.**

A closeup of a pile of jam knifed onto bread.

"Hey," Sam comes into the kitchen.

"Hey," Dean says.

"PB&J for breakfast, that's a snap," Sam says.

"Yep," Dean says, with a funny look at Sam.

"Want a beer with that?" Sam asks.

"I'm good," Dean says.

"Come on, live a little," Sam says cheerfully, taking a beer from the fridge and putting it next to the PB&J in front of Dean.

"What's going on with you?" Dean asks.

"What do you mean?" Sam asks. "Anyway, I think I found something. Three days ago, a teen was found wandering on the road with a head wound, near Grand Junction, Colorado. And there's a haunted asylum nearby."

"Okay, that sounds like something," Dean says.

"Yeah, so I thought we'd check it out, you and me," Sam says.

"What about Jack and the soulless wonder?" Dean asks.

"I was thinking we'd leave them behind," Sam says.

"Really," Dean says.

"When's the last time we worked a case, just you and me," Sam says, with a cheerful smile.

 **In the alternate universe past the rift.**

Mary watches a figure move in the window of the cabin, then it disappears.

She settles in for a long wait, a much longer wait in the Supernatural universe where time seems to run faster.

 **A residential neighborhood.**

The Impala rolls to a stop.

Sam hands Dean an ID.

"Agent Page?" Dean says. "You always want to be Agent Page."

"Well, I'm changing it up," Sam says.

Dean knocks on the door.

A woman in a green sweater opens it. "Can I help you?"

Sam immediately shows his ID, before she finishes talking.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, Agents Page and Plant, FBI," Dean says in a bored voice.

"We're here to follow up on the incident with your son," Sam says empathetically.

"Well, the police have already been here, shouldn't you talk to them?" she says.

"We did, but we'd like to speak with you and Shawn in person. Any detail may help us track down the missing teen," Sam says.

"Something wrong?" Dean asks the woman.

"Shawn, he won't talk. He can't," the woman says.

"What do you mean?" Sam asks.

"The doctor said it's psychological. Trauma. He saw something - so awful…." the woman's voice trails off.

Shawn is in his room, a bandage on his head. A knock on the door. Dean opens it. He walks in slowly. "I'm Agent Page, FBI," he walks in slowly, looking over Shawn's shoulder, as Shawn scribbles furiously.

Shawn's drawing a picture of the bird mask.

"Hey, mind if I take one of these?" Dean asks. He doesn't expect an answer, and takes one of the drawings.

Downstairs, the woman talks to Sam. "And uh, Evan, he's still missing," the woman says and she sets a cup of tea in front of him. "Their friend, Mike, says he doesn't know anything."

"But you think he does," Sam says.

"Those boys do everything together," the mom says.

 **A hotel.**

The Impala pulls up in front of a hotel. Sam and Dean get out.

"I say we talk to the other friend, Mike, in the morning," Sam says.

"Sounds like a plan," Dean says.

"So, strip club?" Sam asks.

"What?" Dean turns around.

"There's one just outside of town. The uh, Clamdiver," Sam says.

"You wanna go to the Clamdiver," Dean says disbelievingly.

"Yeah, it got great reviews. Four and a half stars-" Sam says.

"Dude, what is going on with you?" Dean says.

"What are you talking about?" Sam says.

"All day," Dean says. "You give me beer for breakfast, you gave me Agent Page, you didn't whine about the music being too loud the whole drive here, and when we stopped for lunch, you ordered me chili fries."

"You love chili fries," Sam says.

"I know I love chili fries. That's not the point. Now you wanna go hang out at a strip club? You hate strip clubs," Dean says.

"No, I don't," Sam scoffs.

"Dude, the last lap dance you had was - was at Christmas. I bought it for you. You asked her to stop dancing and spent the entire song talking to her about her classes in nursing school!" Dean says.

Sam grimaces as Dean talks. "I'm being nice to you, because you need a break."

"I need a break, but you're never nice to me," Dean says.

"I'm always nice to you!" Sam says indignantly.

"In your head you are," as Dean talks, he draws a small silver dessert fork from a pocket. "Let's see," and jokingly holds against Sam's hand. It burns a welt on shapeshifter Sam's hand.

Dean grabs the shapeshifter's wrist and stabs him, missing the heart as Shapeshifter Sam twists and punches Dean. They fight and then Sam runs.

In the background, a hotel concierge calls the police while another concierge shoves an improvised bar through the door handles and hides behind the counter.

Dean draws his gun and shoots Sam in the legs. Shapeshifter Sam falls. Dean draws a knife, slashing shapeshifter Sam's throat. Dean opens the trunk, takes out silver handcuffs, locks them on Sam's arms and legs, ties him up with rope, and heaves the body into the trunk.

Dean races away with a squeal of tires, while the sound of police sirens is still distant.

 **A house.**

Inside Shawn's bedroom, he wakes up screaming.

His mom rushes into the room. "It's okay baby, it's just a dream," she hugs him.

Shawn lays back down in bed.

"Try to get some sleep," the mom says.

Shawn says, "Okay."

The mom smiles in relief, petting his head.

"That's good. That's good." She tucks him in, and leaves the door cracked open as she leaves him to rest.

A whirr. The ghost of the doctor flashes into existence. A terrified, Shawn gets out of bed. The ghost doctor rushes at him with a howling scream.

 **Atlanta, Georgia.**

In sepia tones, the scene flashes to Sam, watching Sam, Dean, Donatello, and Jack watch a body burn. The Sam watching the fire looks like he is smirking. Sam follows the four as they walk into the Bunker.

Skipping forward in time, Sam watches himself research, hovering over the shoulder of the other Sam. Sam watches himself talk to Dean. Sam shouts, "Dean! Don't go with him! Why would you leave Jack! No!" Sam tries to shove the other Sam's laptop off the table and grab Dean but his hands go through everything he touches.

Sam appears in the Impala and watches angrily in the backseat as Dean drives and Sam sits in the passenger seat. The two in front sing along to a song together. Sam in the back seat glares disapprovingly and says huffily, "I hate this song. I can't believe you believe I would sing along with you to this song." Outside the car, Billie, the reaper Castiel killed watches them pass by on the highway.

As Dean and shapeshifter Sam argue in front of the hotel, Sam listens carefully. Hope rises on his face as he sees Dean take out the dessert fork, then his expression changes, "Where did you steal that?" he says sanctimoniously as he watches the fight from a different angle. "Nice shot," Sam says as Dean shoots the other Sam in the legs.

Sam listens to the approaching sirens, and looks appreciatively, yet annoyedly at the capable concierge and the shelf used to block the door handles. He looks around the corner, then jogs back and hovers over Dean. "Hurry up!" Finally, Dean heaves Sam's body into the trunk.

Sam high-fives Dean and his hand passes through Dean's arm. Sam reappears inside the Impala, sitting in the passenger seat. "Why the trunk!" Sam hops into the passenger side seat. "You know how much stuff we have back there? It could shift into … into a kid and get out of the cuffs!"

Patience wakes up, her head on her hands. It looks like she's fallen asleep at her desk, while studying in her home in Atlanta.

 **I-70 Eastbound.**

Dean's on his cell phone as he drives.

Jack's voicemail: "Please leave a message for … Jack … at the tone."

Dean's phone rings with an incoming call. It's Patience, Missouri Moseley's granddaughter. He looks annoyed, but answers. "Dean."

"It's Patience, I … had a dream. You were in it," Patience says.

"What was the dream?" Dean asks.

"There was guy with you, he was watching himself and you sitting in your car, singing, and … talking to you, but you couldn't hear him," Patience says. "You fought him, you were outside of a hotel, and another him was there, he watched you fight himself and he … wanted you to win."

"Tall guy, girly hair?" Dean asks.

"Yeah," Patience says.

"Got it. Sam's a shapeshifter," Dean says. "Last case went bad."

"Okay," Patience says. "What's a shapeshifter?"

"They take other people's shapes and reads their minds. Silver burns 'em. Kill em with decapitation or silver to the heart. Anything else?" Dean asks.

"Not that I remember," Patience says.

"Thanks," Dean says.

"You're welcome," Patience says. She hangs up.

Dean puts his phone away and pulls off the highway, down a dark, gravel road, following a fence. Dean gets out of the car, draws his gun, and flings open the trunk, leaping back. He looks inside, warily. Shapeshifter Sam is unconscious. Dean drags the shapeshifter out and chains it to the fence. It's still wearing Sam's face.

Dean feels the neck. He slaps the shapeshifter awake. Dean takes out a silver knife and burns it's shoulder. The shapeshifter thrashes helplessly on the fence.

"What did you do to Sam?" Dean demands.

Shapeshifter Sam gasps, "Dean, please, don't hurt me. We can talk this out. Whatever's bothering you-"

Dean slowly guts the shapeshifter, dragging the knife through it's belly.

The shapeshifter whimpers and gasps in pain.

"Don't try to fool me," Dean says. "Did you kill him?"

Groggily, the shapeshifter says, "Let me go and I'll tell you."

Dean stabs it again and again, until the shifter falls unconscious.

The shapeshifter takes a long time to come back. Distant cars and trucks roar by on the highway. The shifter glares at Dean. "Afraid of shifters are you?" it says haughtily.

"Tom," Dean says.

The shifter looks back at Dean.

"I'll kill you and that freak Doctor. I'm gonna make her scream," Dean says. "She'll beg me to end her."

"You, you're the freak, Hunter! Every shifter knows you're evil," Tom spits out. "Even the Alpha knows Doctor Vallens. He'll hunt you down."

"Oh yeah. Who's the new Alpha?" Dean asks.

Tom opens his mouth as if he's going to speak in a whisper, so Dean to lean closer. Tom spits blood on Dean's face, almost getting him in the eye.

Dean jumps back, wipes off the spit and stabs the shifter, leaving the silver knife in it's arm as it screams. Once it's screams have died down to whimpers, Dean says, "What did you do to Sam?"

"He needed to die, just like you. You'd never stop until you killed us," Tom says. "I had to protect her."

"What did you do to him!" Dean yells.

The shifter smiles. "You'll. Never. Find. Out."

Dean punches the shifter and rips out the knife, then uses it to burn the shifter's face. "Where's Sam," Dean asks as he beats up the shifter.

The shifter doesn't answer, no matter how Dean tortures it.

Dean re-ties the shifter when it's unconscious, lays down a blanket and puts it in the passenger seat.

As he drives on the dark highway, he calls Donatello, who doesn't pick up, and then Jack again.

Jack sounds groggy, he's in bed in the Bunker and looks like he was sleeping. "Hello?"

"Jack!" Dean sounds relieved. "Have you seen Donatello?"

"Yes," Jack says.

"What was he doing?" Dean asks.

"He was on his laptop … and he went out for food … and he came back," Jack says. "And then I don't know. I was asleep until you called me."

"Listen, sit tight," Dean says. "Stay in your room and wait for me, okay? Don't open the door unless I ask you, uh, where's Donatello."

"Okay," Jack says.

"Good," Dean says.

 **The Bunker. Hallway.**

Dean walks down the hallway with his gun drawn.

He knocks on Jack's door. "Jack," he says.

"Yes?" Jack says. Inside the room, he's sitting on his bed reading a book on his laptop.

"Open up," Dean says.

"No," Jack says.

Dean checks the door. It's unlocked. Annoyed, Dean gets in the room, and closes and locks the door behind him. He walks up to Jack and draws a silver knife. Jack looks on passively.

Dean tests Jack with the silver blade.

"Why did you do that?" Jack asks.

"Sam's a shapeshifter. Probably got taken at that kooky Doctor's place," Dean says.

Jack looks a little alarmed. "What do we do?"

"I've got the shapeshifter in the dungeon. Where's Donatello?" Dean asks.

"I don't know," Jack says. "I've been in my room."

"Okay. You question it with your freaky powers," Dean says. "And next time, lock the door."

"Okay," Jack says. He gets off the bed and follows Dean.

Dean opens the door, and Donatello is standing right outside.

As Donatello says, "Ah, Dean," Dean points his gun at Donatello and snarls, "Get back."

"What is-" Donatello starts to say, without moving back.

Dean presses the silver blade to Donatello's hand. Donatello doesn't react.

"You thought I was a shapeshifter," Donatello says.

"One of 'em got to Sam," Dean says.

"Ah," Donatello says. "Please calm down, if I was soulled I would have been frightened by this turn of events. We'll need our wits to catch a shapeshifter."

"It's in the dungeon. Let's go," Dean says.

"Are you glad I read those books, now …. Dean," Donatello says.

"Yeah, great," Dean says so Donatello will stop talking.

They enter the dungeon, where the badly beaten-up Sam shapeshifter is tied up and chained to the wall.

"Sam!" Jack says.

The shapeshifter is unconscious.

"He looks badly injured," Donatello comments. "I thought shapeshifters regenerated."

"He has," Dean says. "A human would've died." Dean slaps Sam, then slaps him again, and puts the silver knife to Sam's face, burning it, until the shapeshifter wakes groggily, whimpering in pain.

Jack looks on, a little disturbed by the sight.

"Where's Sam!" Dean snarls. "Jack,"

Jack steps closer and says, "Sam?"

"Please Jack, let me go, Dean's hurting me," Shapeshifter Sam pleads.

"Don't believe it, Jack," Donatello says. "It's trying to play on your sympathies. Force it to tell us where the real Sam is."

"Tell us, where's Sam," Jack says hesitantly. "Show yourself!" Jack's voice rises into a scream.

The shapeshifter morphs, flesh peeling off. Dean rips off the shreds of flesh, revealing Tom, Dr. Vallens' assistant from the last episode.

"Where's Sam," Jack demands. "Sam! Sam!" Jack's eyes glow.

 **Outside the Bunker.**

The remains of a pyre a day old. A body forms out of the dirt and ash. Sam gets up and staggers across the ground.

 **Bunker. Dungeon.**

Inside the dungeon, Tom smirks at them. "You burned him alive, thinking he was me," Tom laughs throatily, his mouth filled with blood.

Dean stabs the shifter in the heart with a silver knife. The shifter slumps as it dies.

"Sam," Jack says, looking puzzled and lost.

Donatello pats Jack on the shoulder. "We did all we could. I'm sad Sam's gone as well, he was much better company. It will be grim hiding here, with only Dean to keep us company."

Ignoring Donatello, Dean rips the shapeshifter's body off the wall and drags the body along the hallway and into the Map Room, followed by Jack and Donatello.

Light banging noises on the door.

"What the-" Dean opens his laptop to view the security camera feed. Sam is outside, covered in ash and dirt. Dean runs up the metal stairs and opens the Bunker door.

Sam staggers inside and collapses into Dean's arms, shivering. The heavy door swings shut.

"Cold," Sam says.

"Cold! You're sweating like a pig!" Dean says, a grin splitting his face. "Where were you?"

Sam says, "Ghost."

Dean strokes Sam's back, takes off his shirt and swings it awkwardly over Sam. They fumble with the buttons, and then Dean helps Sam down the stairs. "Jack, you did this?" Dean asks.

"I don't know," Jack says.

"Hmm, you must have. He looks like he came back from the dead," Donatello says.

"Shower," Sam croaks. "Talk later."

 **Grand Junction, Colorado.**

Shawn's mom, Penny, drives to a farm in her beat-up Honda civic.

She gets ouf the car. A young man is working, moving hay.

"Hey, Mrs. Clarke," Mike says. He doesn't look at her.

"Mike, what happened that night?" Shawn's mom asks. "Mike! Please tell me."

Mike says, "We were going to that haunted mansion to make videos for Evan's youtube channel. I didn't go."

"Is that all?" Shawn's mom asks.

"Yeah…. Can I get back?" Mike asks, pointing a thumb at the bales of hay.

"Yes. Thank you," she walks back in her car and gets out her phone.

 **The Bunker. Kitchen.**

Dean's frying a cheese omelet. A plate with a large pile of finished, crispy bacon is on one side.

Jack and Donatello are sitting at the small kitchen table on their laptops, huddled close together. A pitcher of green smoothie and a carafe of coffee are on the table.

On the counter, a colorful wrasse floats in a luxurious aquarium, next to a potted plant.

Sam walks in, joining all the living creatures in the Bunker. His phone rings. "Hey," he answers.

"Mr. Plant, it's Penny Clarke, Shawn's mom. I talked to Mike. He told me that on that they were going to the Meadow's Mental Health Center, it's an abandoned building closed years ago."

Sam puts his cell phone on speaker. "Great, thank you."

"Is there any word about Shawn?"

"What happened to him?" Sam asks, motioning to Dean to listen and for Jack and Donatello to be quiet. Dean takes the skillet off the heat and walks over to the table.

"I don't know!" Shawn's mom says. "Shawn had a bad dream. I checked on him, it seemed, it seemed like he was getting better. I went back to my room, but it felt a little cold. I thought Shawn must have opened a window. When I came back in to close it, he was just ... gone. I called the police but they won't help until he's been missing longer."

Sam looks at Dean. "Well, we'll look into it, and get back to you tomorrow." He hangs up and looks at Dean.

"Fake you sent us on a case to Grand Junction," Dean says.

Sam nods. "I watched the shapeshifter research the case."

"Shawn's the kid with the head injury, we visited him and his mom yesterday," Dean says.

Sam makes a face. "It was cold, so ghosts?"

"Maybe. We'll check it out," Dean asks. "Got to lie low there. I took out fake you in front of a hotel and they called the police."

"Right," Sam says.

"I'll make hex bags," Dean says.

"I'll make them in the car," Sam says.

"What happened?" Donatello asks Sam.

"Tom, the shapeshifter, jumped me when I went out to look for him," Sam says. "He knocked me unconscious, then I woke up as a ghost. I watched him, then followed you to Grand Junction and back. I followed you to the dungeon, but I couldn't make you see me, then when Jack called my name, I woke up outside. Strange thing is, a reaper didn't come for me."

"Huh, do you think, after Billie died, we didn't get a new reaper?" Dean says.

"Maybe," Sam says with a kind of almost shrug that means he doesn't know. "Or the Bunker's wards block them."

"You were outside the Bunker for some time though?" Donatello says.

"Yeah," Sam says.

Dean shoves the omelet on the plate with the pile of bacon and puts it in front of Sam as he and Donatello talk.

Sam stares at the mountain of food.

Dean puts blueberries in a bowl and sets banana halves on the table. "Eat up, and we'll get going." Dean puts butter and then a pile of greens into the skillet, while Sam gets up for plates, cutlery, and cups.

 **Grand Junction, Colorado. Day.**

Shawn's mom has a flashlight. A man standing next to her looks like her husband. They're in front of the Meadow's Mental Health Center.

"Tomorrow could be too late," she says.

"I know." He steps forward and checks the door. It swings open.

They walk inside.

The door opens.

They leave the abandoned mansion. Shawn's mom looks back at the windows. As she turns away the ghost plague doctor seems to look back.

 **Grand Junction, Colorado. Night.**

The Impala reaches the Meadows Mental Health Center at night. Sam, Dean, Jack, and Donatello get out of the car.

Jack and Donatello carry flashlights, salt, and wrought iron bars from a decorative fence. Jack and Sam have backpacks on. Dean has a shotgun and a small duffle over his shoulder.

The doctor ghost appears, touches Sam and flings him away, immediately disappears and reappears next to Dean, behind his back, and flings Dean to the floor, and the disappears and reappears next to Donatello, knocking him almost unconscious.

The ghost disappears and reappears next to Jack, but Jack stands there and swipes the ghost with his iron bar. The ghost stutters into invisibility.

Sam and Dean get up. Sam goes to Donatello and helps him up.

"Story was, they had to pry the doctor's mask off when they arrested him," Sam says.

"Right, maybe the ghost's linked to a mask," Dean says, quickly looking through the room, then nodding upwards.

"How do you know the story?" Donatello asks Sam, as they head upstairs.

"I was dead, not unconscious. And I watched the shifter do the research," Sam says as they jog up the stairs, past the stained-glass windows. Jack trails along in the group.

"Jack, stay tight," Dean barks.

They walk briskly down the long hallway. Dean spots the shelf of masks in the exam room, and tosses them in a trashcan to set them on the fire. Sam, Jack, and Donatello lay down a wiggly salt line around themselves. The doctor ghost flashes creepily outside of the circle, but it can't break the line.

The entire room shakes. Screams come from all sides as Dean pours accelerant in the trashcan and then lights an entire matchbook. The masks in the trash can catch fire and the doctor burns with them, but the screaming of the ghosts continues. Dead patients flash into existence, making the room shake harder.

"They didn't stop," Jack says, covering his ears.

"The people he killed," Sam says.

"Ahh," Donatello says calmly. "Fascinating experience."

"Shawn!" Dean yells. "Shawn, you there?"

"Let's get out of here," Sam says. "Shawn's probably dead."

They race down the shuddering hallway and down the stairs, crashing into walls. Dean grabs Jack and keeps him upright as they run. Creepy ghosts flash in and out. Sam's in the lead and he swipes his iron bar through them.

They reach the main room. The front door slams shut.

Dean kicks the door, and shoots it with his shotgun loaded with rock-salt, and kicks it again, but the door stays closed.

"Jack!" Sam asks.

Jack stands in front of the door and screams. The door explodes outward.

They run outside and turn to face the mansion.

Sam says, "Let's burn it. Should take care of the ghosts."

"Shawn could be in there," Dean says.

"You saw that ghost. He went right for the kill," Sam says.

"I'll die and talk to them, find out where the bodies are. It's a tinderbox, the whole place'll go up," Dean says, searching in his bag.

"So we'll come back after it rains or dig a fire break. It's too risky, Dean, why are you carrying those around?" Sam says. Dean's pulled out a case with two vials and a syringe.

"Give me 3 minutes," Dean says, and injects himself before Sam can do anything else.

"No!" Sam yells and grabs Dean, as Dean froths at the mouth and seizes.

Dean's spirit quickly walks into the mansion. He sees a ghost walking and shouts, "Hey, dead guy! Wait up!"

A reaper appears. "Hello, I'm here to guide you to a better place."

"Give me 3 minutes," Dean says, running past her.

The reaper looks startled and disappears.

"Hey," Dean says. He follows the dead ghost downstairs and it walks through a fireplace. He turns around.

Shawn is there, looking badly injured. "You're the FBI man. Are you dead?"

"Yeah," Dean says. "Listen, I can help you get to a better place. But I need to know something, where's your body?"

Shawn points through the fireplace. Dean looks closer. Shawn's hand is sticking out from the wall and visible from inside the fireplace.

Dean looks at the walls.

"Thanks, that helps," Dean says.

Dean jogs back up the stairs and out of the mansion. "Hey, got it!" he says cheerfully, and watches as Sam looks at his watch. The timer gets to zero and he injects Dean, but Dean doesn't wake.

"Dean, Dean!" Sam cries as he shakes Dean's arm. "Jack! Please!"

Jack stares at Dean's body.

Jack says. "I have to want him to be alive, I think."

"Please, try, Jack, for me," Sam pleads.

Jack opens his mouth and freezes like a possum playing dead.

Sam gives Jack a concerned look.

"Hey Dean," Billie says.

"Billie," Dean says.

"We need to talk," Billie says.

She snaps her fingers and the scene freezes, except for Jack, whose eyes are on Billie, he's keeping still, but not frozen.

"No, I saw Cas kill you," Dean says.

"And how's that working out for him?" she says. "It's funny to hear a Winchester talk about the finality of death. This reality has rules, Dean. And one of them? Kill one incarnation of Death and the next Reaper to die takes its place. So, turns out I got a promotion. New job. New gear." Death's ring is on her finger and she holds a tall, staff-like scythe.

"So you died to become Death?" Dean asks.

"Sometimes the universe is… poetic," Billie says. She turns and she and Dean are in a large room, like a library, with spacious, black shelves, and stacks of thin books piled up on their sides.

"So, am I dead?" Dean asks.

"You killed yourself," Billie says.

"Are you keeping me dead?" Dean asks.

"That depends on you," Billie says.

"Congrats on the promotion, but I got a house full of ghosts and my brother waiting for me, so if I can get going, if it's up to me-" Dean says.

"I didn't say it was up to you. I said it depends on you. Word is, you've been slipping through worlds. I want to know how," Billie says.

"Here I thought Death knew everything," Dean says.

"Then you can imagine how this one blind spot feels to me," Billie says.

"What's in it for me?" Dean asks.

"What do you want?" Billie asks.

"Free the ghosts," Dean says.

"Excuse me?" Billie says.

"Free the ghosts at the Meadows place, let them move on. And I'll tell you whatever you wanna know," Dean says.

"Deal," Billie says. In the mansion, the ghosts all turn white and disappear. "It's done."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Dean asks.

"You don't," Billie says. "But then again, I'm not the one breaking bargains."

"Fair enough," Dean says.

"So… spill," Billie says.

"Lucifer's son. Jack. When he was born it created a rip," Dean says.

"A rip? Into another world?" Billie asks. "And you went there?"

"Mmm-hmm," Dean says.

Bille says. "Tell me more. Is it closed?"

"Yeah. We worked a spell with Crowley to close the rip. He died there to finish it," Dean says.

"What else," Billie says. "Because there's always something else."

"Lucifer and our Mom got trapped there," Dean says. "Why do you care?"

Billie says. "I care because we live in a house of cards. And the last thing I want is a dumb Winchester wandering around, knocking it all down into the Empty."

"Huh," Dean says.

"When you bargained with me, you could have asked to go back," Billie says. "Why didn't you?"

"I figured with you, there's no getting back," Dean says.

"That doesn't sound like the Dean Winchester I know," Billie says. "The one who's died so many times he's lost count. The man who's outlived his reapers and believes he'll always find a way. Always come out on top. Or am I wrong?"

"What do you want me to say?" Dean says. "If it's my time, it's my time."

"You really believe that," Billie says. "What changed your mind?"

Dean stares at her a long time. "The world doesn't need me around."

"But, it does. Need you around," Billie says. She puts a hand on a shelf. "Every volume on this shelf devoted, especially to you, tells how you die. Every single time." She takes a thin volume off the top of a stack.

Dean glances up at the shelf towering over him, then back at Billie.

"You and your brother are important. You have work to do. Much as I'd like you to die, and stay dead, my eyes are opened to greater necessities. Trust me. It's not a thrill. So, live..." The volume bursts into flames in her hand.

"Billie," Dean says.

Outside the Meadows house, Dean wakens with a gasp.

"Hey, hey, you're okay," Sam says.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean says, sitting up. Sam, Jack, and Donatello surround him.

Dean gets up and heads to the Impala.

"Wait, Dean!" Sam says. "What happened?"

"I dunno, guess it took a minute for it to kick in," Dean says.

"What about the ghosts?" Sam asks.

"We can talk about it later," Dean says.

"We won't talk about it later, you know that," Sam says.

"I saw Death," Dean says.

"He's dead," Sam says.

"No. It's Billie," Dean says. "She got a new gig. Got rid of the ghosts."

"Why would she help us?" Sam asks.

"She wanted intel on the rift. Said we were important, that we had work to do, there's greater necessities," Dean says.

"What the hell does that mean?" Sam says.

"No clue," Dean says. He starts to walk to the Impala, but Sam stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Why'd you do it, Dean!" Sam demands.

Dean says, "...You know, I always believed what we do is important. That it was worth it. And the hits kept on coming, Dad, and ... everyone, ... but I kept on fighting, because I believed we were making the world a better place. Now, … I don't know." Dean walks away from Sam and gets heavily in the Impala.

Sam knocks on the window.

Dean winds it down.

"Where's Shawn's body?" Sam asks, leaning on Baby.

"In the wall," Dean says. "I'll call Jody in the morning."

"Oh, now you can wait," Sam says.

"Just get in the car," Dean says.

"Mrs. Clarke deserves a little closure," Sam says.

"She's gonna get it one day," Dean says. "Keep your panties on."

"Dean-," Sam gives Dean a bitchface.

"Jack, don't follow Dean's example. Those were crass jokes, unfit for polite company," Donatello says without bothering to lower his voice.

Sam and Dean stop talking to give Donatello leery-eyed looks.

Sam gets in the car.

Jack looks at Sam and Dean and gets in the car along with Donatello.

Dean drives away from the mansion.

Sam says, "Thanks, Jack."

"You're welcome. I don't know what I did. I wasn't sure I did anything," Jack says.

"I felt a surge of power when you called Sam's name and your eyes glowed the color of the corona of the sun," Donatello says. "I'm quite sure it was you, Jack."

Dean eyes them.

"I'm glad you did it, it doesn't matter that you don't know how," Sam says.

Dean's phone rings. He looks at it and answers, "Hello."

"What?" Sam says, when Dean doesn't say anything.

Later, the Impala rolls down a slope into a small town and pulls up to one of the few working pay phones left in the United States. Castiel is sitting on a bench next to the phone booth. He stands up as the Impala comes to a stop.

 **The End.**

Notes: Back-edited.


	6. Tombstone

Season 13, Episode 6: Tombstone in story form, with minor canon divergence.

Teaser: Flashbacks to Jack and Castiel. Dean getting Cas' call and driving into town.

 **Now:**

Night. A small town with a wide gravel and dirt road, leading down a slope to a bank of payphones. Castiel stands up.

Dean, Sam, Jack, and Donatello get out of the car. Dean immediately draws his M1911.

Dean stares at Cas. "Cas, it you?" Dean says, keeping his pistol on Cas.

"It is me, Dean," Castiel says.

Jack starts to move forward, but Sam says, "Jack, stay back!" and moves in front of Jack.

Dean throws a silver dessert fork at Castiel's face, impaling him in the palm that Castiel raises to shield his face, and shouts, "Christo."

Castiel pulls out the fork and looks at it, saying, "I am not a demon. And I apologize, I have no pie to give you, Dean. It was a long day."

"You're telling me," Dean says.

"You were dead," Sam says.

"I was, but … I woke," Castiel says.

"How?" Dean asks.

"I don't know. I was sleeping in the Empty. I felt … called and woke. An entity appeared and sent me back," Castiel says. "How long have I been gone?"

"Too long," Dean says.

"Not long," Sam says at the same time.

"Jack, is it really him?" Sam says.

"We could shoot it," Dean says, keeping his gun on Cas.

"Please don't shoot me, Dean," Castiel says.

"Castiel! It is you," Jack runs to Castiel, standing near him.

Castiel pulls Jack into a hug that Jack returns awkwardly.

"I missed you," Jack says. "You weren't there."

"I'm sorry, Jack," Castiel says. "Lucifer killed me."

Dean and Sam step forward. They hug Castiel in turn.

"Good to have you back," Sam says.

Donatello hangs back.

 **Supernatural** **Cemetery.**

A few police officers and a tall woman look into an empty grave, with the coffin removed and placed to one side. There's a large hole in the side of the coffin, as if something punched through it.

A tall heavy-set officer asks the woman, "And you didn't see or hear nothing?"

"No. Nothing looked dug up," the woman says. "I walk around the grounds a couple times a week and I didn't see anything."

"It's gonna be hard on the family," the officer says. He looks at the woman. "You gonna be okay, Athena?"

"I'll be fine. I'm glad Dave's staying with me," she says, looking at the coffin.

 **Bunker. Library.**

Jack leads Dean and Castiel into the library. Jack's laptop is open on a table.

"Look," Jack gets up and goes to Castiel. He levitates a pencil, then puts it back down with a proud smile at Castiel.

Dean looks at Jack warily. Castiel looks blank.

Jack quickly sits back down in front of his laptop and says. "I found a case."

"What?" Dean says.

"Zombies!" Jack says, clicking on the laptop. "See!"

"Where'd you learn that?" Dean says.

"Watching you and Sam," Jack says.

"A few weeks ago in Dodge City, Kansas, a vintage pocket watch with an inscription was sold at a pawn shop. But, when the buyers tried to authenticate it, they found that it'd been buried with its owner, over a years ago. Yesterday, when the dead person's family investigated the grave, they found that it was empty. The dead are rising!" Jack says.

While Jack talks, Sam wanders in with a mug. He takes a sip.

"Right, or maybe there was a grave robbery," Dean says.

Jack looks at Castiel.

Sam leans over them looking at the laptop. He says to Dean. "We should check it out. You could sleep in the car."

Dean looks indignant and says, "Excuse you! I'm driving," and then looks annoyed that he's agreed to go.

 **Stampede Motel and RV Park.**

The Impala speeds through a long, narrow parking lot and into an angled parking spot.

Walking down a long hallway in the wooden building, Dean says, "Alright, this is supposed to be the best room in this joint." He opens the door and flicks on the light. "Oh hoh, the Wild Bill Suite!" The room is decorated with cow horns and a Wild Bill cardboard statue. Dean and Sam are loaded down with clothing on hangers in clear plastic dry cleaning bags.

"Wow," Sam says sarcastically.

"Pretty cool, right?" Dean says happily, looking at a wall of old black-and-white photos. "Dude! Check it out, check it out, check it out! Clay Allison! Gunfighter extraordinaire. Curly Bill Brocius. Little fun fact here, was killed by Wyatt Earp himself. Heheheh. Johnny Ringo, Billy the Kid..." Dean talks to himself as he looks over the photos.

"He really likes cowboys," Jack says.

"Yes, yes, he does," Castiel says.

"Doc Holliday! Hey-oh! This is awesome!" Dean says.

No one else is nearly as enthused.

"I say, quick shower, dinner, and tomorrow we hit the cemetery," Dean says.

"Sounds like a plan," Sam says.

Dean and Sam walk through a door into another room in the suite. "Oh yes, cowboy hat hangers!" Dean exclaims.

Jack, Donatello, and Castiel remain in the main room. They look at each other.

Inside the bedroom, Dean and Sam hang up their clothes.

Sam says, "I can't believe you brought your own hat."

"I can't believe you didn't," Dean says.

"It's only a four hour drive," Sam says.

"Yeah?" Dean says.

"We could come here again. It's good to see you smile," Sam says.

"Shut it, Sammy. No chick flick moments!" Dean says.

"Jerk," Sam says, smiling.

"Bitch," Dean says. "Dibs on the shower!"

Later, a timer on a phone buzzes. "Sam, it is three minutes," Castiel says, standing in front of a closed door. "Do you require assistance with your hair?"

"No, I'm fine!" Sam yells.

With a snigger, Dean swaggers through the bedroom's saloon-style doors in a vintage western suit with a bolo tie and a white shirt. He's carrying a cowboy hat and puts it on jauntily.

In the main room, Jack and Donatello are on their laptops. Jack looks up.

"Dean, I do not believe that excessive contact with warm, running water and soap will make Sam dissolve," Castiel glares irritably at Dean and the cowboy hat.

"The hat too much?" Dean asks, uncomfortably.

"Yes," Castiel says.

Dean takes it off and goes into the bedroom.

Sam comes out of the shower in a towel and bath slippers. "Shower's free," he says and walks quickly into the bedroom.

"Ahh, there's nothing like washing away the day with a long, hot shower," Donatello gets up and heads to the bathroom with a large cowboy basket of body products and clothes. "Don't wait for, I plan to take my time."

Castiel follows Sam into the bedroom. "Donatello does not plan to abide by the time limit."

Sam looks at Dean and Dean look at Castiel.

"I see, this was a prank," Castiel says, and walks out.

"Mr. Crankypants woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Dean mutters.

"I can hear you, Dean," Castiel says. "And there are no beds in the Empty."

Dean says, "Someone needs to catch some zzz's," as Sam dresses in a vintage western suit.

From the other room, Castiel glares through the fingerhole in the doors and says, "I cannot 'catch some zzz's' as you say, because I do not need to sleep. I cannot sleep."

Dean hands Sam a bolo tie.

"Do I have to wear this?" Sam says, looking at the tie.

"Yes, you have to wear this," Dean says. "Maybe we should order in. Hitler, out there, will be a Debbie Downer all dinner. Oh wait, I killed Hitler!" Dean says heartily.

Outside the bedroom, Castiel says, "Sam?"

Sam emerges from the bedroom partly dressed and buttoning his clothes, "Dean's happy you're back. We both are."

Castiel just stares at Sam.

Sam looks at Cas. "I haven't seen you ... like this since ..."

"Since when?" Castiel snaps.

"Since you drank a liquor store," Sam says.

"I don't belong here, I should be sleeping in the Empty," Castiel says. "The sensation is akin to utter despair."

Dean walks up to the saloon doors and looks at Castiel.

Castiel says. "Perhap the feeling will fade with time. Be that as it may, please continue and we will, as Dean said, eat dinner, sleep, and investigate the case."

 **Stampede Grille.**

There's a long line at the outdoor buffet-style BBQ in the back of the hotel, as Dean, Cas, Sam, and Jack walk in. Sam notices a man gesticulating and talking excitedly to a beautiful woman who looks uncomfortable and is giving the man a leery look. Sam and Dean exchange glances.

The man is wearing a black leather jacket and openly carrying a pistol in a thigh holster. The woman looks up and stares at Dean and Castiel.

"...poisoning us all, it was in the corn syrup," the man blathers.

Dean smirks and saunters over. "See anything you like?"

She gets out of her chair rapidly and looks up at Dean. "Excuse me," she says, with her eyes glued on Dean.

"Of course, you're excused," the man says. He stares at her back.

"You know what I always say. Save a horse, ride a cowboy," the woman says.

Dean holds out his arm. "Couldn't agree with you more." Dean and the woman walk away.

"Hey, where did you hear about the corn syrup?" Sam asks.

Finding a new convert, the man turns to Sam. "It's all online. The government can't suppress the Truth!"

"Sucrocorp?" Sam asks.

"Yes, you have heard!" the man says loudly.

"Yeah, I've heard … rumors," Sam asks quietly.

"It's the End Time," the man says.

"The what?" Sam says.

"You haven't heard," the man gasps. "It ties together every supernatural event that the government's covered up. Explains it all. We are living in the end times. The apocalypse has come and gone and we are the chosen, we are the survivors," the man rants. "God. God has left the room," the man says in a low voice. "He is no longer on earth. There is only us!"

Sam says. "Is this a book?"

"It's a blog," the man says. He sticks out his hand. "Owen."

"Sam," Sam says. "Good to meet you." He glances around. Jack is getting food and Castiel is standing guard from a distance.

Sam smiles smoothly and gets out his phone.

Owen says. "I hardly meet anyone interested in the Truth. You're a special, special man."

"Thanks," Sam says.

 **Motel Room.**

Back in the motel room, Dean and the woman enter as Donatello leaves.

"Good to meet you Tabitha," Donatello says, looking at a real estate business card and then putting it into his pocket. "I'll keep your friend in mind."

She smiles at him.

Dean closes the door behind Donatello and smiles at her.

"My knight in a bolo tie. How can I reward you?" she says flirtatiously.

Dean pulls her into a kiss.

Later, in the bedroom, Tabitha's stomach rumbles loudly as Dean sits on top of her, with his cowboy hat on and nothing else. They got into bed so quickly that she's still wearing her shirt. "Hungry?" Dean asks.

She reaches up, Dean bends over, and she takes off the cowboy hat and runs her finger through his hair. She kisses him, "Mmm. I'm starving." She puts Dean's hat back on his head.

Dean kisses her. They roll over and get off the bed and put on their clothes.

 **Stampede Grille.**

In the dining area, Owen, Sam, Jack, Castiel, and Donatello are sitting together at the table. Donatello is looking at his phone. Dean and Tabitha walk up with plates loaded with food.

Sam takes in Tabitha's rumpled appearance and Dean's cowboy hat. "That was fast."

Dean grins widely. "I'm quick-"

"...On the draw," Tabitha stares at Castiel, eating him with her eyes. "Do you ever-"

Castiel looks at her and says flatly, "I have no interest in participating in a threesome with you. Or a twosome."

Dean says, "Shoot a lady down with tact."

With a shrug, Tabitha says, "Got shot down by an ace."

Dean grins at her. They dig into their food.

"Tabitha. Tabitha, this is Agent Beyonce," Owen says.

"Mmmrph-hmm," Tabitha says, her mouth full of food, with bulging cheeks.

Castiel stares at them.

"Dean, this is fascinating," Donatello says. He gives the phone to Dean.

Dean swallows his food as he takes the phone…, "Mmm … what is this?"

"Exactly what it looks like," Sam says. "A blog about the end times, after the apocalypse didn't happen and God left."

Owen sits rigidly and says, "It's 7."

Dean glances at Owen.

Tabitha swallows her food and gets up. She stuffs in a last mouthful, cleaning her plate, and gives Dean a thumbs up as she and Owen walk away.

"Did the things in this blog really happen?" Jack asks.

"More or less," Castiel says.

Sam says, "It's distorted."

"They're putting it all out there," Donatello says.

"That was weird," Dean says, looking at where Tabitha and Owen left the dining hall.

Sam says, "Did you get her number?"

"Ain't my first rodeo," Dean says.

Sam nods. "They're tapped into a network of end time witnesses. Tabitha's an organizer in their network."

"Hmm," Dean says.

 **A Road. Night.**

"Run that plate, will you, Sophie?" the cop in the police car says, calling in to the dispatcher.

"Copy that, Carl, will do," the dispatcher says.

Carl's police car is pulled over with lights flashing. He's behind a large pickup truck.

The door of the truck opens and closes. The cop looks up. He gets out of the car and walks to the empty vehicle, looking inside, shining his flashlight.

Meanwhile, in the cop's car, the dispatcher speaks, "Carl, we got a match on that plate. It's Robert Dalton, Kansas City," the woman says. "...Carl? You better not be out there already. Sarge's gonna tan your hide."

There's a noise.

The cop turns around, panting, pointing his flashlight.

The car door slams.

The cop spins around, but sees nothing. Suddenly, he's pulled under the truck, screaming.

"Carl, earth to Carl," the dispatcher says in an annoyed voice.

 **Stampede Motel and RV Park.**

Sam gets under the covers of a bed and looks across the room as Dean takes off his outer shirt, checks his knife and puts his gun under the pillow. Dean gets under the covers too.

"Goodnight, Sammy," Dean says.

"Night," Sam says.

They both fall asleep within moments, snoring. A patch of drool quickly spreads on Dean's pillow.

In the main room, Jack talks to Castiel. "And there were these angels, they tried to kill me. I thought angels would be good."

"Good's a relative term," Castiel says. "Most angels lack a desire to cause harm for pleasure, as demons do. They are not necessarily 'good.'"

"What's Heaven like?" Jack asks.

Castiel says. "It is a fluid multidimensional space, containing souls in individual Heaven's where they relive their favorite memories. At the center is the Garden. A road, the axis mundi, connects each Heaven to the Garden. Or, you can envision Heaven as a hallway with rooms, where individual souls are kept."

"Fascinating!" Donatello says. "I don't suppose my soul is in as good of a situation inside Amara."

"I'm sorry, I have no knowledge of what happened to the souls Amara devoured," Castiel says.

"I'm glad mother's in Heaven," Jack says.

"I am glad, Jack. Kelly was a courageous person," Castiel says.

"She left me a message," Jack says. "I thought you would be waiting for me!"

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," Castiel says.

"It's fine, it's okay. I understand. I remember you protected me," Jack says.

"You remember?" Castiel asks.

"I remember feeling safe, when I thought about you," Jack says.

"Jack, your mother believed that you would do amazing things, that you would change the world to make it a better place. And so do I," Castiel says. "And talking to you, looking at you, I know she would be proud of you."

Donatello reads through the blog, the End Times. "This is fascinating. It explains so much."

Jack glances at his laptop. Information on a window monitoring police activity shows an emergency. "I'll go tell them," Jack jumps up and runs through the pretend saloon doors to the bedroom.

"Jack, no!" Castiel says, quickly following him.

Jack shakes Sam's shoulder

Sam jolts as he wakes up with a start, grabbing Jack's wrist and twisting him into a chokehold. Dean immediately flings back the covers, drawing his gun from under his pillow and pointing it at Jack, almost without opening his eyes.

Simultaneously, Castiel shouts, "Let go of him!"

Sam releases his grip before Jack reacts.

Sam looks alertly at Jack, Castiel, and Donatello.

"Sorry, Jack, you scared me. What happened?" Sam asks.

Later, in the main room, Dean grunts as he drinks coffee from a mug shaped like a cowboy.

"Okay, code three means officer down," Sam says, looking at the laptop. "Looks like the victim was covered in bite marks."

"Like from a zombie!" Jack says.

"Or anything that has teeth," Dean says.

"Change of plans," Sam says. "Jack, Donatello, and I will hit the graveyard. You and Cas hit up the crime scene."

Dean puts the mug of coffee down. "Team Free Will 2.0, here we go."

 **A Road. Night.**

The Impala rolls up to the crime scene, drifting over the yellow line in the middle of the road.

Castiel looks in the side mirror. "Are you drunk?"

"No," Dean gives Cas a look.

"Your driving has worsened," Cas says.

"I've slept two hours in the past twenty-four," Dean grumps.

Cas looks out the window. "Perhaps longer than the past twenty-four." He leans over and presses two fingers to Dean's forehead.

Dean blinks.

"Must I wear this absurd hat?" Castiel asks, wearing a straw hat shaped like a cowboy hat.

"Yes," Dean says, dressed in a vintage western suit with a bolo tie. He gets out of the car and is wearing cowboy boots, Dr. Sexy style. He puts on a cowboy hat as soon as he steps outside.

"Just act like you're from Tombstone," Dean says. "The movie with Kurt Russell."

"Ah yes, the movie you told me would be 'awesome'. The one with tuberculosis and the Battle at O.K. Corral," Castiel says. "I found it dull and uninspired."

"Yeah. That one," Dean says, grumpily.

They swagger to the scene. "Sheriff Phillips?" Dean asks.

"It's Sarge. Sheriff's on vacation," the man says.

"Well, I'm Agent Russell, this here's my associate," Dean says.

"Agent Beyonce," Cas says.

Dean looks pained, while Sarge gives Cas a long look.

"Yeah, okay, what do you want?" Sarge asks.

"We heard about the attack last night, and wondered what you could tell us," Dean says.

"The victim was Deputy Carl Phillips, my nephew. Some psycho slit his throat and left his body for the coyotes to chew on. I knew that boy since he was a day old," Sarge says. "We got prints. He's gonna pay."

"We're deeply sorry for your loss," Cas says.

"Anyway, what the hell's the Texas Rangers even doing up here?" Sarge asks.

"Rangers, that's right. We've been tracking a fugitive that crossed state lines. He's been robbing graves," Dean says. "And, off-the-record, doing cannibalism on the side."

"Oh, we got us one of 'em," Sarge says. "Carl was the one looking into it. You think there's a connection?"

"Could be," Dean says.

"Well, you boys are more than welcome to poke around, but I catch up with your runner first, there ain't gonna be much left of him to take back to Texas," Sarge says. "You can count on that."

Dean nods, "Ain't nothing's more important than family."

Sarge gives him a nod.

 **A Mortuary.**

Sam, Donatello, and Jack walk down the stairs into the basement of the mortuary, where a woman with over-ear headphones is listening to music while beautifying a body.

She turns around and sees them, looks startled, and takes off her headphones and face mask.

"There was no one upstairs," Sam says.

"Athena Lopez, undertaker," she says. "And you are?"

"Agent Elliott," Sam says, taking out his ID. "Sorry for surprising you. This is Agent Carter," he indicates Donatello.

Jack wanders off without an introduction, picking up things and looking at them.

"We're here about the grave robbery," Sam says, moving to block her view of Jack. "We heard you live on the premises?"

"All my life," she says.

"According to the police report, you didn't see anyone the night of the grave robbery?" Sam asks.

"I was out. Amanda Palmer concert," she says.

"Young people these days, no taste in music," Donatello interjects.

"We're trying to figure out what happened," Sam says quickly.

"The cops have it roped off," she says. "You're welcome to check it out."

"Thanks again," Sam says.

In the graveyard, Sam jumps down into the grave. Jack holds a flashlight and plays it over the scene. Donatello looks around.

"I love the night air, it's brisk and refreshing," Donatello says.

Sam looks around in the grave, eventually he feels a section of loose dirt. Rummaging in it, arm-deep, he finally pulls out a hip bone.

Sam says, "Looks like-"

 **Stampede Motel and RV Park.**

"...Ghouls been chewing on it," Dean says, looking at the gnaw marks on the bone.

"A ghoul is a monster that feeds on the dead. They can take the form of whomever they've eaten," Castiel says.

"Good 'ole decapitation or bashing their brains in will take care of 'em," Dean says.

"So, like a zombie shape-shifter," Jack says.

"Yeah. It could have tunnels all over the cemetery," Sam says.

"If it could be anyone, how do we find it?" Jack asks.

 **A Mortuary.**

Ominous music plays, as the undertaker walks down a hallway with her headphones on. A man appears behind her.

 **Stampede Motel and RV Park.**

"That's the hard part," Sam says.

Dean uncaps a beer. "I hate monsters that look like someone else. Gives me the heebie-jeebies."

"Perhaps the ghoul is Athena?" Castiel says.

"Yeah, a ghoul that owns a mortuary. That's smart-" Dean says.

"No, she's got access to bodies. She wouldn't need to dig 'em back up or cooperate with us." Sam says.

"Right," Dean says.

 **A Mortuary.**

A shadow looms behind the undertaker as she works her late-night hours.

The figure smacks the undertaker on the bottom. She turns around.

"Dave! Not cool," she says.

"What, it's your fault for looking sexy," he says.

"I don't like when you do that," she says.

"You do like it. Sometimes," he says.

She grins as he tugs her close.

 **Stampede Motel and RV Park.**

"I've got something," Jack says. "I went through the city's traffic cam footage. Look, this was from yesterday. Before the deputy was killed."

Jack turns his laptop and shows a photo of a truck at an intersection.

"Holy crap, that's Dave Mather," Dean says. "Cowboy. Outlaw. One of the Dodge City Gang." Dean gets up and walks to a framed black and white photo on the wall.

 **A Mortuary.**

'Dave Mather' and Athena kiss.

 **Stampede Motel and RV Park.**

Dean takes the photo off the wall and says, "He was one of the greatest gunfighters, ever. He died in 1886. I'm gonna get my boots on." Dean walks away. "One of the best gunslingers ever, woo!" He says from the other room.

 **A Mortuary.**

"You got a letter," 'Dave Mathers' says, "and it's from that makeup school. Thought you said you weren't gonna apply?"

"Changed my mind," she says. "And it's not that make school, it's Ben Carruth Makeup and Special Effects Program. It's the best," she says, opening the letter and reading it.

"The Carruth Program, got it," he says.

"Babe, I got in!" she says.

"Cool," he says, not excited at all.

"Don't get too excited," she says.

"No, I think it's great you got into that," he says.

"But?" she asks.

"But it's in Los Angeles, and we're not swimming in cash," he says. "City living, it's expensive."

"Yeah, and there're loans," she says. "I could sell this place if I needed to."

"Athena, don't you think we've got a good thing here," he says. "Why'd you wanna go mess it up?"

"Whatever," she says, putting down the letter. "I have to work."

"Athena," he says.

"Three FBI agents came by today," she says. "One of 'em didn't look old enough to shave."

"What for?" he asks.

"Grave robbery," she says.

 **Stampede Motel and RV Park.**

"So our ghoul ate an Old West gunfighter and stole his face," Dean says excitedly, handing a carbine to Sam.

"That's what it looks like," Sam says, checking the carbine.

"I've seen him before. There was a picture at the mortuary," Jack says. He remembers a photo of Athena and Dave smiling at each other. "He's Athena's boyfriend."

 **A Mortuary. Day.**

The Impala pulls up to the mortuary in the bright sunlight.

Dean looks in the back seat, where Jack, Castiel, and Donatello are crowded together. "You three hang tight while we talk to the undertaker," Dean grins.

"What do we tell Athena?" Sam asks.

"The guy she's been banging eats dead people and we're here to kill him," Dean says. "Or we could lie."

"Yeah, definitely lie," Sam says.

Inside the mortuary, Sam and Dean go downstairs, dressed in their regular clothes. Sam calls out, "Athena?"

She storms out crankily, wearing pajamas. "Why are you here?"

"Athena, my partner and I-" Sam says.

"I know who you are. What are you doing in my house, again?" she asks.

"We're looking for your boyfriend," Sam says.

"Why? Is this about the grave robbery?" she asks.

"And a murder," Dean says. "Sheriff's deputy was killed last night."

"We just wanna talk to him, that's all," Sam says. "Do you know where he is?"

"He said he had to go to the bank," she says.

 **A bank. Day.**

A heavyset security guard opens a door for a customer. He walks back to the teller's counter. "Hey Shawnte," he says.

Behind him, the door opens. "Howdy, partner," David Mathers has a red handkerchief over his face and holds a gun at the security guard.

"You hit that alarm, you die," the boyfriend says as the teller counts out cash and the security guard stares at him.

"You hand me that cash with a dye pack in it, you die," he threatens again.

"You try and play hero, big boy, you die too," he says.

The security guard nods slightly.

'Dave Mathers' walks out the bank. Dean fires at him point blank range, but the ghoul dodges and hides behind a car, firing back. Dean takes cover behind a large potted plant. Sam fires shots, keeping the ghoul off Dean.

"Dave Mathers, robbing a bank," Dean calls out.

"You must be hunters," the ghoul says. "You know, I like to keep a piece of 'ole Dave on me, to gnaw on."

Sam and the ghoul shift position, sniping at each other, and Dean shifts around the potted plant. Jack, Castiel, and Donatello hang back.

"Two, three, four, five hunters! Must be my birthday," the ghoul says, from behind a car.

The ghoul shifts position and Sam moves around. They exchange fire, taking out windows and blowing up the potted plant, peppering Dean with dirt and pot shards.

"I've got this!" Jack says.

"Jack!" Castiel says, following him.

Inside the bank, the security guard says, "Stay here," and he heads outside.

Ghoul Dave Mathers shoots Jack in the chest twice. Jack looks at his chest, the red blood on his white shirt.

"What. The. Hell," the ghoul says, looking at Jack. The security guard sneaks up on the ghoul from behind.

Jack's eyes glow orange. He lifts his arm and sends a shockwave of orange light. The wave lifts the security guard and the ghoul. The security guard smashes hard into a pillar, and then Jack stops the wave, shouting, "No!" The ghoul rolls out of the remains of the shockwave, taking off at a run.

Castiel, Donatello, and Sam run to Jack.

Dean chases after the ghoul. An SUV drives between them and Dean loses sight of the ghoul.

Back outside of the bank, Jack says, "I didn't mean to, Castiel."

Cas crouches and places his fingers on the man's forehead, then stands up.

Sam checks the man's pulse. "He's dead," Sam says. "Can you bring him back?"

"I, I need to know him," Jack says. "I don't know his name."

Sirens wail.

 **Stampede Motel and RV Park.**

Dean says, "The police will be all over this. We need to get him out of here." Jack is sitting away from the adults, who are speaking together in a circle, near the door. "I'll take care of the ghoul."

"I can stay," Cas says.

"Naw, I'll handle it," Dean says. "Besides, you need to be with the kid."

"Alright," Castiel says and walks to Jack.

"This course of action is, let me put it plainly, idiotic," Donatello says. "But I'm glad to get away from sharpshooting ghouls. O.K. Corral is far better on the big screen."

 **A Mortuary.**

The ghoul staggers downstairs with his bag of money. "Hey, baby."

"What happened?!" she rushes to him, looking worried.

"Uh, I got shot," he says.

"Oh my God!" she says and tries to touch the bloody patch.

"Oww!" He backs a little. "Not a big deal. Hey, I robbed a bank for you."

"What are you talking about?" she asks, eyeing him strangely.

"I changed my mind. You can go to that school. And I'm gonna come with you," he says. "'Kay, we gotta leave now. It's the big city, here we come!"

"Are you insane?" she asks.

"Now look, I can pawn jewelry, this 'n' that, for concert tickets, but for skipping town, digging up a few bodies ain't gonna cut it," he says.

"You're the grave robber?" she asks. "But … Carl…."

"That pissant deputy was tailing me, I had no choice," he says.

"You killed someone!" she says.

"He had it comin', but it doesn't matter, baby," he says. "We need to leave. Now."

"Don't. Don't touch me," she pushes him away.

"I'm the one who's given you everything!" he says angrily. "You stop being a bitch." He grabs her by the arms. "Athena, you are with me, and I will always take care of you, and I will always protect you, but we need to get the Hell out of Dodge."

She shakes her head, looking at him. "No. No."

"I'm leaving and you're coming with me. This was your dream!" He grabs Athena and drags her as she struggles, knocking over equipment that shatters on the floor.

"No, let go of me!" she yells.

Outside the mortuary, Sarge and Dean pull up in their cars. Sarge gets out of the car, a rifle over his shoulder.

"Y'all looking for someone? Because I am. Bank in town just got robbed," Sarge says. "Big 'ole shootout."

"I heard," Dean says.

"Shawnte recognized the voice, said it sounded like the fella's been dating Athena," Sarge says.

"Sounds about right," Dean says.

"Prints from Carl's murderer and the bank matched. I checked his place, it's cleaned out. But he won't leave without his best girl. Why are _you_ here?" Sarge asks.

"He's the grave robber," Dean says. "Where's your badge?"

"This is family business," Sarge says.

"Good. Cuz, I'm not taking him alive. Headshot," Dean says. "Nothing else'll kill him."

Dean and Sarge check the mortuary door. It's locked.

Dean picks the door, with a grin at Sarge as the door opens. They search the building.

In the basement, a jar of embalming fluid was knocked over, and shattered on the floor, spilling the liquid. Footsteps from two different shoes lead down the hall.

Sarge crouches and looks at the footprints.

A noise, like running feet overhead.

Dean and Sarge run out of the mortuary, following the noises, into the cemetery. They see a glimpse of the ghoul hiding behind the tombstones and the bushes of the park-like grounds.

The ghoul ducks and dodges.

"What the hell?" Sarge says.

"Come on," Dean says.

The walk further through the graveyard.

"Where'd he go?" the man says.

"He's messing with us," Dean says.

"He's too damn fast," the man says.

"Not faster than a bullet," Dean says. "You wait here, I'll flush him out." Dean walks on.

There's a rustling noise, then a hand comes out of the earth between the man's feet and grabs his ankle. In an instant, the man disappears underground, leaving his cowboy hat behind.

Dean walks back, "Sarge?' He looks into the hole: a narrow well of dry dirt.

"Aw hell," Dean says. He gets on his belly and looks down again. "I don't wanna," he says, then dives into the hole.

 **Impala.**

Sam, Castiel, Jack, and Donatello are in the Impala. Sam is driving.

"We still believe in you, Jack," Sam says. "I believe in you. That you'll do good in the world. One mistake doesn't change that."

"Jack, I've killed people by mistake. People I love. People I regret hurting. It never gets easier, but it's not supposed to. We carry that pain in our hearts, so we won't make the same mistake again," Castiel says.

"Stop it! Stop talking!" Jack yells.

 **A Mortuary.**

With a loud, metallic clank, Dean swings a square metal door open. He comes out in an office decorated with labelled anatomy pictures.

Athena is tied to an office chair. "Oh my God," she says.

Dean drops out of the tunnel and works on her wrists. "You okay?"

"No! My boyfriend robbed a bank and tied me here," she says. "I'm not okay."

"Your boyfriend's a corpse-eating ghoul," Dean says.

A moan. It's Sarge, lying on the floor behind a wall dividing the office space.

"Hey, Sarge," Dean rushes to Sarge. "You okay?"

"Still kickin,'" Sarge says. "That sumbitch dragged me down here, tossed me around like I was a rag doll."

"You know where he is?" Dean asks.

"A lil' bit," Sarge says, looking past Dean.

A gun cocks.

"Hands up," the ghoul says.

Dean doesn't move.

"Oh I think you heard me," the ghoul says.

Dean stands up and turns around, raising his hands.

"Attaboy," the ghoul says.

"Dave, don't!" Athena says.

"It's okay, I'm doing this for us, baby," the ghoul says.

"There is no us," Athena says.

"Breakups are the worst, sucks to be you," Dean says. "Oh wait-"

"Shut up," the ghoul says.

"Or what?" Dean asks.

"Or I put a bullet right between your eyes," the ghoul says. "You come down here without a gun, what'ya think would happen," he chuckles.

Sarge fires.

The ghoul's head blows off and the body topples to the floor. Athena freezes as blood spatters her face and pajamas.

 **Cemetery.**

Dean and Sarge walk through the cemetery under the bright sun.

"So, you mind telling me what that was back there?" Sarge asks.

"A ghoul, they eat the dead. Human dead, and take their shapes. Dave killed your deputy. He tried to kill you. You shot him dead. I was never here," Dean says.

"Anythin' else?" Sarge asks.

"The security guard at the bank, Dave killed him too," Dean says.

"That magic kid one of you?" Sarge asks.

"He's one of us," Dean says.

 **Bunker. Map Room.**

Jack sits, staring at nothing. Sam looks at his laptop, sitting at the map table across from Castiel.

The door clangs. Dean comes in.

"Hey," Sam looks up. "How'd it go?"

"Killed the bad guy, saved the girl," Dean says.

"What about the bank, security videos," Sam says.

"Sarge took care of it," Dean says.

"Good," Sam says.

"Good. How is that good?" Jack asks, getting up. "I killed someone. What was his name. That guard. Did he have a family?"

"Sam… funny coincidence, and yeah, he did," Dean looks at Sam and then at Jack.

"I couldn't bring him back," Jack says.

"Jack, we've all done things we regret," Sam says.

"Don't!" Jack says angrily, too angrily.

Sam quickly backs off, too quickly.

"You're afraid of me," Jack says, sounding upset.

"No," Castiel says in a low voice.

"I'm… I'm afraid because you sounded angry," Sam says. "Not because of what you did. It was a mistake. You're … young … you're not used to being in a fight. You went out there because you saw Dean was in trouble," Sam holds his hand out at Dean to stop him from interrupting. "Because that's what it looked like to you. And you didn't pay attention to the security guard behind the ghoul, but that's a mistake. It's a world away from wanting to hurt somebody."

"I thought I was getting better, but I'm not," Jack says.

"You are getting better," Sam says.

"I want it to be perfect," Jack says. "I have to be perfect. I can't make the world a better place. Not like this."

"Jack, listen to me, it's not like that," Dean says. "None of us are perfect. It's not about being perfect. There's just trying to do your best."

"No. No it's not like that. Maybe I am a monster. I know that if I stay, I'm going to hurt you," Jack says. "I'm going to make mistakes. I'll hurt you. And you're all I have. I have to go."

"Jack, listen," Sam says.

Upset, Jack puts up his hand. A wave of orange light knocks everyone off their feet.

Jack disappears.

They get up from the floor.

"Jack!" Castiel says.

Donatello comes in from where he partly hiding in the kitchen. "Boy, am I glad I missed that. Well, Jack's gone, so I'm off to Boca," and he turns around.

In the alternate universe past the rift.

Mary keeps watch behind the tree. The sun hasn't lowered much.

A slight figure gets into position behind her, dressed in camo, holding an assault rifle. Moving slowly, the figure raises the assault rifle.

Bullets punch Mary in the back. Blood spreads on her torso and she topples over.

"Idjit," Bobby snarls, rising from the bushes where he was hidden, carrying a rifle in his arms.

The woman says, "Bobby! I didn't see you."

"She's from the rift. I kept an eye on 'em," Bobby says. "I told ya."

The woman looks at Mary's figure. "I'll take her."

"You better," Bobby says. "She's not alive for questioning, you'll pay the price."

Note:

Pretty neat, light-hearted episode. Came out short again and added light-hearted stuff after getting to the Stampede Motel and Dean gets lucky with a woman who also really loves cowboys - sorry about the sex scene, my first time writing one. What did you think?

Back-edited.


	7. War of Worlds

Season 13, episode 7: War of the Worlds with minor canon divergence.

Teaser: Flashback to Mary and Lucifer getting trapped in the alternate world. Lucifer and Michael meeting. Asmodeus. Jack leaving the Bunker.

 **Now:** **The Bunker. Library.**

Dean walks into the library with Stampede Motel coffee mugs in his hands. "Anything?"

"No. Thanks," Sam says as Dean puts a mug down in front of Sam. "Not yet." He looks at Castiel, who is standing in a corner of the library on his phone.

Dean sits down across from Sam. Both of them have laptops open on the table.

"I talked to every Hunter and contact we know and trust," Sam says.

"How'd it go?" Dean asks.

"Not great, but they're on the lookout," Sam says.

Castiel puts his phone away and walks over to Sam and Dean.

"Jack's off the grid," Sam says.

"Kid was pretty spun out," Dean says. "But we'll find him. There'll be a sign."

"Yeah," Sam says in a disbelieving, low voice.

"Kid'll blow something up," Dean smirks.

"Maybe. Maybe he's covering his tracks, like Jesse," Sam says while rubbing the back of his neck.

"The anti-Christ kid?" Dean asks.

"Yeah." Sam looks up.

"I believe the dearth of evidence is the evidence," Castiel says.

"Evidence of what?" Sam asks.

"Evidence of," Castiel says, "Jack...being dragged to Hell by Asmodeus or to Heaven by angels."

"Maybe," Sam says. "He didn't resist the last time angels tried to take him. And Asmodeus had him fooled."

"He was a day old," Dean says. "He's wised up."

"I'm going to find out," Castiel says.

"From the angels?" Sam asks.

"Yes, I have a contact," Castiel says.

"Alright, let's go," Dean says, getting out of his chair.

"Dean, no. My contact is anxious about meeting me," Castiel says. "She may take flight should she detect you."

"I'll run backup," Dean says.

"No," Castiel says flatly.

"Then why'd you tell us?" Dean asks.

"In case it goes wrong." Castiel gives Sam a folded up piece of paper.

Sam unfolds it, then looks up at Castiel's back as Cas leaves the Bunker. "Call me when you get there?" Sam asks.

"Of course, Sam," Cas says.

Dean glances at Sam and the paper, wanting to see it.

Sam tucks the paper into a pocket. "Later," Sam says. "You found a case."

"Three murders," Dean says. "Tortured, throats slits. Check out the bodies."

Sam looks at a photo showing a witch's altar with a body lying next to it.

Dean drinks from the mug and sets it back down.

"Were they all witches?" Sam asks.

"Looks like. All three places were ransacked," Dean says.

Sam brushes a hand over his eyes. "Any demon connection?"

Dean shrugs with his whole body.

"Alright. Let's see what we can find," Sam says.

 **SUPERNATURAL** **Hell's Throne Room.**

Asmodeus sits cross-legged on the seat of the throne, with his eyes closed, saying to himself, "Jack … Jack… Jack..."

A demon walks in the open doors to the throne room. There are no guards and the room is lighted by candles. "Lord Asmodeus."

"I sensed you with my immense powers," Asmodeus says without opening his eyes. His white-socked ankles stick out of his white pants goofily.

"I have news of Jack," the demon says.

"Proceed." Asmodeus looks at the demon.

"One of our Hunters reports that the Winchesters are looking for Jack," the demon says.

"Excellent. Continue to search for him," Asmodeus says.

The demon leaves.

"I need better help." Asmodeus closes his eyes. "Jack … Jack … Jack…."

 **Indianapolis. Residence.**

Inside a room, a youthful woman shoves a twin mattress onto a box spring. It looks like she's moving into a large basement room. The only pieces of furniture are a soft, sectional sofa set and the bed. Boxes are neatly stacked up by the walls.

"You need anything else," a woman asks from behind her.

She turns and smiles. "No, thanks. I appreciate your help." She hands the woman a hex bag. "Put this under your pillow and it'll help with the insomnia."

"Thanks, Daniele, really appreciate it." The woman leaves, clomping up a long set of stairs.

Meanwhile, Daniele opens a box, neatly labelled bath supplies, and carries it to the bathroom.

Daniele takes out the bath supplies, mostly packed in plastic bags and puts them away or on the counter. She turns around, hearing a noise. "Sabrina…?" She walks out. The door at the top of the stairs is shut and the room is filling with smoke.

Daniele collapses on the ground.

A bearded man with a gas mask, curly, dark hair, and dark jacket and pants appears. He grabs Daniele and ties her to the bedframe, then opens a window. The smoke quickly dissipates and Daniele wakes. The man shuts the window.

The man slowly draws a knife across the upper chest, tearing a gash into her shirt as she screams.

"Where is Rowena MacLeod," the man demands, his voice lightly distorted by the gas mask. "Tell me, or your pretty face will be the next to go." He has a pretend British accent.

The woman gasps for breath as she struggles in the ropes tying her to the bed. "I don't know, why would I know?"

"Tell me what you know. Where is Rowena MacLeod?" the man asks. It's Ketch.

"She's dead! Dead! Everyone knows she's dead," Daniele says.

"Where is Rowena MacLeod," Ketch says.

"Why are you asking me? She's dead," Daniele says.

"If you believe that, you are of little use to me," the man says, raising his knife and slowly cutting her again as she screams and struggles desperately. "But I will take what you have to give to me."

The woman flicks her hair, so it catches Ketch across his gas-masked face.

He starts leans back, annoyed.

She says, "Manete."

Ketch freezes.

Daniele undoes the unfamiliar knots with intense focus. Still bleeding, she glances at Ketch with a terrified look, then staggers away from the bed, grabs her purse and runs up the stairs.

Ketch remains frozen.

 **Bloomington, Indiana. Day.**

Dean walks out of a square brick building onto a bright street. He's in his FBI suit. "Yeah, Jody. Yeah, that's number four…. We don't know what's going on. We just know they're all witches, they were tortured and killed, and there's no trace of sulfur."

Sam is sitting on the Impala, looking at his tablet.

"Yeah…. Alright, will do. Thanks," Dean says.

Sam pauses a video on his tablet and looks up. "What did Jody have to say?"

"She's got nothing. No prints, no DNA. Whoever's killing them knows how to clean up," Dean says.

"If it's human," Sam says. "Check this out. Surveillance footage of the last victim," Sam says, showing Dean the video on his tablet. "Before she was kidnapped and killed. She turned down an alley."

"Wait, go back," Dean says, watching the video.

Sam scrolls back on the video.

"Him." Dean points at a bearded figure on the tablet.

Sam zooms in. "No. Is that?"

"Ketch," Dean says. "Mom shot him clean through the head."

"Exactly, so that can't be Ketch," Sam says.

"So what is he?" Dean asks. "And what's he doing ten feet from the victim?"

Sam takes out his cell phone and dials Jody.

 **Indianapolis, Residence.**

A man with dark curly hair and a beard knocks on the door at the top of the stairs, carrying a yellow plastic tool caddy. Ketch remains frozen.

"Daniele? Hello? Sorry to bring this up on Day One, but … a neighbor said that you opened the window and smoke came out. Smoking is not allowed inside the house. It's in the lease. And I'm going to nip this problem in the bud and seal that window." He knocks again and then opens the door and walks arrogantly down the stairs. He looks at the window, before turning around and taking in Ketch, frozen with a gas mask and holding a bloody knife, and the blood and ropes on the mattress.

He walks into the room and touches Ketch. Inside the mask, Ketch's eyes move.

The man bolts upstairs, and slams the door. It opens inwards and doesn't have a lock. He grabs a toddler from an enclosed play area next to the kitchen and bursts out the front door, gets into an SUV and drives away.

 **In the Alternate Universe.**

The camera plays over Lucifer's mouth.

"I got plenty of gripes with the old man," Lucifer drawls and meanders, as if speaking in a dream.

"His self-righteous narcissism. His my way or the highway assholery. I gotta hand it to him. He had a couple great seconds while he banged out the universe. Dad had creative chops. I'll give him that. And despite his pissiness and his massive lack of perspective, fairness, and good judgment, he created us." Pictures of the universe and Earth accompany Lucifer's words. Lucifer is locked in a torture device.

A hand turns Lucifer's head. "He ruled, he smote, he parted waters. Worshipped by creatures he made, who made him into their image, and lessened him. He left us to live with them. And then, he got disappointed. Or worse, bored. Picked up his toys and left. See you. Sayonara."

Michael releases his hands from Lucifer's head. Lucifer stops talking and his eyes focus. He looks around as much as he can, locked tightly in a metal device, hanging from the ceiling. He, Michael, and two other angels are in a dark, faux-church with a large statue of Jesus in agony nailed on the cross.

"What was that?" Lucifer asks.

"I hitched a ride on your vessel's temporal lobe," Michael says, pacing around Lucifer. "Saw your world. The paradise you left behind? I shall lend my guiding hand."

"Ah, of course. You've done such wonders with this place," Lucifer says.

Michael smirks. He grabs the metal of the cage and slams a row of spikes into Lucifer.

Lucifer screams as he dangles in the cage.

Michael faces him. "You claim to be a god in your world. Here you are weak," Michael says smugly.

"Oh, I never claimed to be a god," Lucifer says.

"Lies, as always, brother," Michael says.

"Lies are tools for a weak mind. I never lie. Now, who was lying when they pretended they wanted my help, my cooperation?" Lucifer spits out.

"Lies are for lesser beings. I am. The divine ruler," Michael says.

"Hey, I never said. Congratulations to you for being king of a dead rock," Lucifer snarks.

Michael smiles. "While I was in your head, I saw what you were most afraid of. Being locked up again, like you were in the Cage. So after I'm done, you'll be left here, alone. In agony. Forever." Michael addresses an angel, "Bring him in."

"Who's him, a drunk walrus?" Lucifer sneers from inside the cage.

"A prophet of the lord," Michael says. "Limited, as all lower creatures are, but useful."

"My question is, what did you do to dear old Dad?" Lucifer asks.

"That is none of your concern." Michael smiles. "Your Father left you."

The door to the church opens. Light spills in, and Kevin Tran walks inside.

"Kevin?" Lucifer says disbelievingly.

"You've seen me, in your world," Kevin says. "And … I have the same name. That's weird."

"I've seen you in my ex-vessel's memories," Lucifer says.

"What do you have for me?" Michael asks Kevin.

"I've assembled the elements described in the angel tablets, the key ingredient, archangel Grace, you refused to donate," Kevin says, holding up a vial.

Michael takes the vial and without hesitation, slits Lucifer's throat with his archangel blade. He presses the vial to Lucifer's throat and grace fills it, then he caps the vial.

"Don't worry, I didn't take it all. I'm saving some for a rainy day," Michael smirks. He hands the vial to Kevin.

 **A dusty cabin / Impala.**

Inside a shabby wooden house, Daniele sits at a table with witchcraft materials spread out. She's wearing a scarf.

Daniele looks in a water-filled bowl. The water is completely still. She sees Sam and Dean driving in the Impala. The image wavers as Sam's cell phone rings.

Sam looks at his phone. It says: Castiel. "Hey. Cas," Sam says.

"Hello, Sam," Cas says. "I have arrived." Castiel is sitting on a bench next to a playground that is the location of the Portal to Heaven. He watches the children on the playground as he talks.

"Great," Sam says, glancing at Dean. "Listen, we're on a case. Four witches killed, no sulfur. We're an hour out from Indianapolis. How are you feeling?"

Dean looks over, listening.

"I feel fine," Cas says.

"It's Cas," Sam says to Dean.

"Give me the phone," Dean says.

Sam puts the phone on speaker.

"Hey, Cas," Dean says.

"Hello Dean, how are you?" Cas says.

"Peachy," Dean says. "How 'bout you?"

"Terrible. But it is of no import," Cas says. "I am awaiting my contact."

"Cas, who is it?" Dean asks.

Cas hesitates.

"I wanna know who to gank if you don't come back," Dean says.

"Dumah," Cas says. "She's assigned to planning."

"Planning," Dean repeats.

"Yes, Dean. Planning," Cas says.

"Ask him what's planning," Sam says quickly.

"I can hear you, Sam," Cas says.

Dean gives Sam a look, then says, "Cas, what's planning?"

"The angels in planning handle the growth and maintenance of Heaven and related record-keeping," Castiel says. "And special cases, such as when a soulmate enters Heaven."

"Huh," Dean says. "How's that going?"

"Influx of souls into Heaven has become a bottleneck. They are overworked," Cas sighs. "...What are you investigating in Indianapolis?"

Sam says, "Home invasion by a guy wearing a gas mask and wielding a bloody knife. The attacker was frozen and disappeared when the landlord went to the police. Victim was a female in her 20's the landlord described as a self-employed herbalist. We're thinking witch. Might be related."

"Other news, Ketch is back," Dean says.

"Or something that looks like Ketch," Sam says.

"Why would a shapeshifter impersonate Ketch?" Dean says.

"To infiltrate the British Men of Letters," Sam answers immediately.

"Mom shot him, but he's back," Dean says. "Got him on a security feed."

"That is ... 'bad news'," Cas says.

 **Indianapolis, Indiana. Residential Street. Day.**

The Impala rolls to a stop in front of a house.

In front of them, a woman in a pick-up truck looks up from her phone and gets out. It's Sabrina, the woman who was helping the witch earlier.

She walks to the Impala. Sam and Dean get out.

"Hey, are you Sam and Dean Winchester?" Sabrina asks nervously.

"Who are you and how do you know our names?" Dean says.

"I'm Sabrina, uh," she giggles nervously. "Um, Daniele asked me to give you this," she holds out a piece of paper.

Sam approaches warily, takes the paper and looks at it: It has an address on it, for Clinton, Indiana, and hand-drawn directions and a map to a house in the middle of a forest. He looks at her.

"Uh, Daniele's the person the crazy guy attacked. She said you would help her," Sabrina says. "I should have noticed that guy. He must have been right there when I left. I just didn't see him. I just drove off," she makes a swoop with her hand. "Didn't see him." She giggles.

"Thanks," Sam says, holding the paper.

"Uh, could I have your autograph?" Sabrina asks. "Or a selfie?"

"No," Dean says.

"Why would you want an autograph or a selfie?" Sam asks.

"Uh, 'cuz you … you saved the world during the Apocalypse, not that I noticed that was happening, but you know, sometimes I don't notice, um, anyways, um, you're famous with the End Timers, my dad's an End Timer, after a demon possessed him. Luckily, we were away, so he didn't kill us," Sabrina giggles.

"I'm glad you survived," Sam says. "Can I get your number?"

Sabrina giggles and steps forward with a drippy smile, "Sure."

"In case we have more questions," Sam says.

Sabrina's smile disappears and she nods. "Here." She hands Sam a business card, and Sam slips her a card.

"Thanks," Sam says.

She waves awkwardly, then gets in her pick-up.

Sam and Dean watch her drive away.

"I'll talk to the landlord," Dean says. "You stay here and keep an eye if … crazy chick comes back."

"Right," Sam mutters, looking at the paper with abstruse directions and a poorly drawn map.

Dean knocks on the front door.

The landlord quickly answers. "Hello?"

Dean takes out his FBI badge. "Agent Russell. I'm here about the intruder with the gas mask and knife."

"Well, welcome! I didn't expect the Feds to come and visit me, and certainly not in a timely manner," the man says heartily, blocking the doorway with his body.

"Well, I'm here now," Dean says. He gestures inside.

The man steps back and Dean walks inside.

 **In the Alternate Universe.**

In the temple, Kevin finishes preparing ingredients on a cloth-covered table. A large bowl is in front of him. The statue of Jesus looms over them. "It's ready," he says.

An angel in the room leaves. The door opens, spilling in tepid light, then closes.

"What are you doing working for Michael?" Lucifer hisses to Kevin.

"I don't have a choice. I'm a Prophet, so I serve God, but there's no God to serve, so I serve the ranking deity, which is Michael, because I don't have a choice, because I'm a Prophet," Kevin rants.

"What happened to God, here?" Lucifer asks.

"I don't know, what happened to yours?" Kevin asks.

"He left. Can't you see Michael is pure evil?" Lucifer says.

"Aren't you Satan, which makes you the evil monster?" Kevin asks. "And besides, Michael's taking me to paradise world with him, where there are women. Women!"

With a thump and clatter, and a strobe of light from the rickety wooden door, Michael enters. "This had better work."

"Okay, disclaimer, the spell I'm casting has never been tried before. And you know how many times the Wright brothers crashed before they flew successfully?"

"No," Michael says.

"I don't know either," Kevin says. "It doesn't matter."

"Just do it," Michael says.

"Okay," Kevin says quickly.

"Kevin," Lucifer says. "Don't. Do it."

Kevin looks up and hesitates, but keeps going with the spell, opening the vial with Lucifer's grace. The grace rings and drifts into a bowl, swirling among other ingredients, guided by Kevin's hands. He chants in Enochian, "Ma ray fay. Doh em lah." The grace burns in the bowl. "Ka day em lah." Kevin flings his arm out.

A rift grows in the air next to the iron cage holding Lucifer.

"Ka day em lah!" Kevin shouts.

The rift explodes with light. The angels recoil.

Lucifer slams his body against the cage and it moves with a creak, and touches the rift. Lucifer sucks through the rift and disappears. The rift closes. The cage swings slowly through the dark church. The statue of Christ watches impassively.

 **Stampede Motel. Wild Bill Suite.**

A blade slices a man's face, matching the many cuts on his face. "I swear to God I don't know anything!" the man sobs. "You're beating a dead horse."

"Explain to me, how Jack and the Winchesters stayed in this here motel room," Asmodeus says, swaying on his feet. "What miracles did you witness?... Where did they go?"

Several demons watch the interrogation.

"I don't know!" the man says.

Suddenly, Asmodeus staggers and topples onto a chair comedically, with his legs sticking up.

"Lord Asmodeus," a demon says.

"A wave of power. I'm sensing ...ahhhh!" Asmodeus' eyes glow yellow and he smiles.

He kicks his legs and stands up ridiculously and triumphantly.

From the chair, the man yells, "Help! Help!"

A knock on the door. "Housekeeping?" a woman's voice says.

Asmodeus gets up, straightens his suit jacket, and opens the door.

"No, no, get away!" the man shouts. "Run! run!"

A woman is standing next to a cart. She looks startled at the scene inside. Before she can run or move, Asmodeus grabs her by the head and draws a knife.

She starts to scream and twists in his grip, grabbing at his hand on her head. She can't break his grip.

Asmodeus wrenches her around so she faces away from him and cuts her throat. The blood splashes over her body. He drops the body on the floor, keeping his white suit pristine. With a huge smile, he says, "We must prepare. Our Lord has returned."

 **In the Alternate Universe.**

"What happened?" Michael shouts.

"Clearly didn't happen like expected, I need to work on my aim, and wow, the spell's designed to admit one person at a time! Who would have thought!" Kevin says.

Michael grabs Kevin by the throat and shakes him. "Fix this, worm," he snarls.

 **Outskirts of Clinton. Evening.**

Sam and Dean walk to a house in the woods.

Dean knocks on the door. Sam has his gun drawn.

Daniele opens the door and backs away.

Sam and Dean enter the house.

"You live here?" Dean asks, taking in the room.

"It's a safe house. It's almost impossible to find," Daniela says.

"Yeah, we noticed," Sam says. "We trust you about as much as you trust us, but we came here. So what's going on?"

"He had me, that serial killer you're looking for." She undoes her scarf, showing a scarred neck and chest. "This is how he tortures people. Slow cuts with a knife. While he was doing it, I got a hand free and touched him to whisper a spell. It immobilized him long enough for me to escape."

"What did he want?" Sam asks.

"He kept asking the same thing over and over again, where is Rowena MacLeod?" Daniela says.

"Rowena's dead," Dean says.

"That's what I told him. That's what everybody's been telling him. He doesn't believe us," she says.

Sam looks up something on his phone.

"Did he have a British accent?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, why?" Daniela asks.

"Is this him?" Sam shows her the frozen picture of Ketch with a beard on his phone.

"Yes," Daniela says. "That's him. I need your help, I can't hide here forever," she says.

"Alright, well, I've got a plan," Dean says.

 **Playground to Heaven. Night.**

"Dumah, thank you for agreeing to meet me. It's imperative that I find Jack," Castiel says.

"The nephilim?" Duman says.

"Yes. Do the angels have him?" Cas asks.

"No," Dumah says. "If we had him, the Host would have cried out in joy," she says.

"What do you mean?" Castiel asks.

"Castiel, our numbers are greatly diminished. We need more angels to protect Heaven and bring in the souls that belong," she says.

"You want new angels. If Jack had that power, why would he cooperate?" Castiel asks.

"We will not give him a choice," she says.

"You would try to enslave him … or control him?" Cas asks.

"He belongs to all of us," she says. Light glows in the sandbox that is the portal to Heaven. Two more angels appear.

"We hear you have influence with the nephilim. He will listen to you," one of the new angels says.

"No. I will not help you with this plan," Castiel says.

"Ever the renegade," the angel says.

Dumah approaches and grabs Castiel's hand. "Castiel, please. Come with us."

Castiel shoves her back and draws his angel blade.

Dumah draws her blade and attacks.

Cas fights the three angels, but after a short battle, Dumah presses her blade against Castiel's throat and grapples him.

Lucifer is standing behind her, near the park bench where Cas was sitting. "Drop the blade, Dumah."

Duman freezes and turns slowly with Castiel to look at Lucifer.

"You hesitate…. Okay. Buh-bye," Lucifer's eyes grow red.

Dumah and the other angels flee to the portal and disappear in a swirl of light.

Lucifer coughs and staggers onto a park bench, gasping for breath like he has COPD.

"What are you doing here?" Cas asks.

"What are you doing alive?" Lucifer gasps.

"It's complicated," Cas says.

"Same here," Lucifer says. "Getting here took it's toll."

"You're weak." Castiel marches towards Lucifer, angel blade in hand.

"Not that weak," Lucifer stands up and stares Cas down. "You and I need to talk. And I need a drink."

 **Outskirts of Clinton. Night.**

Later that night, Daniela sits at a table, flipping tarot cards. She listens to the spooky noises of the house, following a sound to the chimney.

A lit smoke grenade rolls out of the chimney, onto the floor.

She staggers up from her seat and then collapses.

A man with a gas mask walks into the house.

A dart with a pink feathery tail hits him in the neck. He pulls it out and falls to the floor.

From outside, Dean lowers his rifle. Sam covers his face with his sleeve and runs in to carry Daniela outside.

Dean pulls the man out of the house and takes off the gas mask. It is Ketch.

Daniela quickly regains consciousness. She staggers out of Sam's arms and looks at Ketch. "That's him."

 **Bunker. Library.**

A phone rings in a tray of cell phones connected to chargers as Sam and Dean drag Ketch's body roughly through the Bunker.

Dean fumbles for the phones as Sam drags Ketch's body down the hallway.

"Hello…. Yes, this is Agent Russell. I did give you my card, yeah," Dean says.

"Really? What did he ask?" Dean walks to the table and gets out a pen and paper. "When was this?... What did he look like? Yeah, we will check into it. Thank you," Dean says.

 **Bunker. Outside the Dungeon.**

Sam comes out of the dungeon to meet Dean.

"That was a manager at Stampede Motel. His front desk clerk and a woman in housekeeping disappeared after Evil Colonel Saunders came by asking questions about Jack," Dean says.

"Asmodeus," Sam says. "He's after Jack."

They enter the dungeon.

Dean slowly slashes Ketch's face. "Why are you after Rowena?"

"Why shouldn't I be. She's a powerful witch who needs to stay dead," Ketch says.

"She's dead," Dean says.

"Is she?" Ketch asks.

"Why were you hunting those witches?" Dean asks.

"Who better to tell me where one witch is, than another," Ketch says.

Dean slashes Ketch's face again. "How are you not dead?"

"Why should I be?" Ketch says.

"Because we killed you," Sam says.

"Apparently not," Ketch says.

Dean hits Ketch's eye with the back of the knife. "Don't mess with us. You killed Mick. You tried to kill us." Dean grabs Ketch's smooth, scarless hand. "You got rid of your tattoo." Dean stab's Ketch's hand.

"I think I know what's going on here," Ketch says.

"Really?" Sam says.

"You have me confused with my brother," Ketch says. "Arthur. I'm Alexander, his younger brother."

"Do I look stupid to you?" Dean asks.

"Is that a trick question?" Ketch says.

Dean slashes him across the face.

"So you're going to sit there with a straight face and tell us you're Arthur's little brother?" Sam asks. "Where were you and why are you here?"

Ketch says. "Arthur was the family success story, our Donny Osmund."

"Alright, Marie, what's your story?" Dean asks.

"Arthur and I attended a feeder school for the British Men of Letters," Ketch says.

"Kendricks," Sam says.

"When it came time to initiate into the organization, I fled. I had no desire to kill or be killed by my brother … or to give my loyalty to self-serving, short-sighted buffoons incapable of seeing what needs to be done even when it is clearly laid it for them, so I fled and stayed hidden, doing my work," Ketch says.

"What's your work?" Sam asks.

"Killing monsters..., for a fee," Ketch says.

"The witches, who's bankrolling their deaths?" Dean asks.

"I'm doing it pro bono," Ketch says.

"Pro bono for who?" Sam asks.

"Pro bono for the world. I kill the bad things, and Rowena MacLeod is a witch," Ketch says.

Dean closes the door the Dungeon.

"I don't believe it," Dean says. "There's weird like Ripley's believe it or not weird, and then there's straight up bull."

Sam grimaces. "I'll check the records."

 **Nick's Bar.**

A cue ball hits and sinks a ball on a pool table in the dark bar. Past that, Lucifer talks to Castiel.

"You were there. You saw that world. Their Michael is responsible for that," Lucifer says.

Cas nods and looks away.

"Do me a favor and stop looking at the door every five seconds like you wanna get out of here," Lucifer says.

"Forgive me for being on edge. The last time we were together you killed me," Cas says.

"So what, you're back," Lucifer says. "Listen to me. Together, you and me, and my son, Jack, we have enough power to drive back Michael. He's not the Michael we know. He's much more powerful and juiced up on the tablets."

"If this Michael-" Cas starts to say.

"When, when. The guy's on a mission," Lucifer says. "Be the heroic Cas I've grown to love and not the butt of the Host's jokes."

Castiel grimaces.

"You know, I'm just sayin'," Lucifer says.

"So how would I save the world?" Cas asks.

"You protected my son, he trusts you, he will work with you and me," Lucifer says. "Convince him to be on our team, against Michael."

"You would seem to be the weak link on the team," Cas says.

"That hurt. That hurt. I'm gonna let it out," Lucifer says uncomfortably. "Yes, my grace is a little bit depleted, but give me time, man."

"I am not a man," Cas says.

"Now you're being juvenile," Lucifer says.

"Hypothetically, if you're deceiving me and I help you find your son, and then you kill me again, leaving Jack unprotected-" Cas says.

"Cut me a little slack, killing you's the last thing on my mind." Lucifer says urgently, "That suped-up monster and his prophet are about to bust through the door. God isn't here. It's just us. We're all we've got. Right now, I need you, you need me, and we both need my son."

Cas doesn't respond.

"How did you hide him so well…. I tried to get a bead on him and no bueno," Lucifer says.

"Jack, your son's name is Jack," Cas says.

"Jack," Lucifer tastes the name on his tongue. "Is he … a chip off the ole block? Any ... miracles? Besides the rift to another universe?"

"He favors the mother," Cas says.

"Nothing that can't be fixed. Seriously, why can't I … detect a presence?" Lucifer asks. "Is he nearby?"

"No," Cas says, leaning back.

"Somewhere more distant?" Lucifer asks.

"Yes, that," Cas says.

"You have no idea where he is," Lucifer says.

"I have to talk to Sam and Dean," Castiel says.

"Why? With all their second-guessing, poor decisions, and whining?" Lucifer asks. "They're looking for him. Fine, go ahead, call them. Ask them if they've found Jack."

Cas awkwardly takes out his phone and dials Dean.

"Cas," Dean says. "What's the news?" He and Sam are in the Impala and Dean is driving.

"Interesting things are happening," Cas says. "What's your news? Have you found Jack?"

"No. We gotta find him fast. Asmodeus' is on his trail, left two dead at the Stampede Motel," Dean says.

Cas looks at Lucifer.

"I would like to see you too, the sooner, the better," Cas says.

Lucifer takes the phone and ends the call. "Smooth was never your strong suit."

Behind them, a figure slips out the back door with a glance at Cas and Lucifer.

On the other end, Dean asks, "Cas?"

"What's up?" Sam asks.

"Somethin' didn't seem right," Dean says.

"I'll track his phone," Sam says.

 **Impala.**

The Impala screams down a road at night.

"There was a brother named Alexander, his younger brother," Sam closes his laptop. "But Ketch killed him during their initiation."

"Man, I hate the idea of Ketch alone in the Bunker," Dean says.

"He's locked up in the dungeon," Sam says.

"Yeah…. How we looking?" Dean asks.

"Good. He's not far. Location's Nick's Bar, near the Portal to Heaven," Sam says. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. It's probably a trap."

"Right," Dean says.

 **Nick's Bar.**

The bar is empty of everyone, even a bartender. Lucifer looks drunk and maudlin. His mood quickly changes into anger. "It's bad enough the Winchesters were babysitting my boy, but then they managed to lose him? With Heaven and Hell hunting him down?"

"In their defense, he is not a child. It was his decision to leave," Cas says.

"What makes them qualified to be babysitters? They know nothing," Lucifer says.

"They know he needs to be guided," Castiel says.

"Ahh. Just tell me one thing. Did he hurt 'em before he left?" Lucifer asks. "Just a little?" Lucifer smiles at Castiel's blank expression.

The door to the bar opens with a clap of thunder, revealing Asmodeus and demon extras.

Castiel stands up hurriedly.

"Hey, man," Lucifer says with fake casualness.

"Lord Lucifer," Asmodeus says.

"Little Asmodeus," Lucifer says. "Taken Crowley's spot?"

"Yes, and I'm real satisfied with my position. Hell is humming along nicely with me in charge, thank you," Asmodeus says. "But I do hope you and your little angel will pay me a visit."

"Well, we're all booked up," Lucifer says.

"Oh, I won't take no for an answer," Asmodeus says.

"You know better than to screw with me," Lucifer says.

"Oh, I know better, but you ain't your old self," Asmodeus smiles.

"So help me," Lucifer whispers. His eyes light up red.

"Aw, please," Asmodeus flicks his fingers.

Lucifer and Cas fly across the room. Cas hits the bar and Lucifer flies over the bar and smashes into the glass bottles before falling to the floor.

"You've seen my strength. Take them," Asmodeus orders the demons.

The demons grab Castiel and Lucifer.

 **Impala. Night. Nick's Bar.**

The Impala rolls to a stop in the grass parking lot of Nick's bar.

Dean bursts in the door with a flashlight and his M1911, Sam behind him.

Dean checks the broken bottles of the bar. "Looks like he was taken," Dean says.

A demon leaps out and attacks Dean. They fight.

Sam shoots a demon, and then closes in to fight with Ruby's knife.

Dean draws his angel blade, Cas' angel blade, and stabs a demon, lighting it up.

A demon is about to stab Sam, but then is stabbed from behind by Ketch.

Sam faces Ketch immediately. "How did you get out?"

"Lockpick. If you'd done a regulation cavity search, you would have found it," Ketch says.

"And the doors?" Sam asks.

"Voice code spelled into each doorway," Ketch says. "I updated it to match the British Men of Letters standard installations."

"Why are you here?" Sam says. "Why not let the demon kill me?"

"Because, I am one of the Good Guys-" Ketch says.

Dean has his pistol levelled on Ketch. He shoots twice.

Ketch falls to the ground, clutching his chest, covering the holes with his arm.

Sam glances at Dean, then back at Ketch.

"I'm not sure about a lot of things in this life, but I'm sure about him," Dean says.

Ketch flicks a hex bag on the floor that explodes. A cloud of smoke fills the room. Dean fires twice more into the cloud of smoke.

Ketch races out of the room. Outside the door, he wedges a heavy grill against the door, then runs to his vintage motorcycle. A kevlar vest is visible under his torn shirt.

Sam and Dean run after him, kicking the door and knocking the grill out of the way.

The run out as Ketch speeds away.

 **Impala.**

Dean calls Cas. "Cas?"

"Hello, Dean." Asmodeus answers the phone with a perfect imitation of Castiel's voice.

"Hey, you okay?" Dean asks.

"I'm fine," Asmodeus says.

"What happened?" Dean asks. "We got jumped by demons."

"I'm sorry, I tried to call and warn you but, I didn't have a signal," Asmodeus says.

"Where are you?" Dean asks.

"I'm following a very interesting lead," Asmodeus says. "I'll fill you in when I know more. See you soon." Asmodeus hangs up.

"Well that wasn't freaky," Dean says.

Sam looks at Dean.

 **Hell's Throne Room.**

A man's smooth fingers brush Asmodeus' jacket.

"If a new Michael arrives, we need that nephilim," Asmodeus says.

Ketch stands in front of Asmodeus. "You really needn't worry," Ketch says with a smooth smile. "Leave these matters to me."


	8. The Scorpion and the Frog

Season 13, Episode 8. The Scorpion and the Frog, episode in story form with minor canon divergence.

 **Then:** Flashback to Episode 6: tombstone, and Jack leaving. Lucifer talking to Castiel about Jack's disappearance. Castiel saying, "I swore I would protect him, let me do this."

 **Now** :

 **Cambridge, England**

Outside of a museum housed in a majestic, stone building, a woman enters as people leave the Cambridge Museum before closing. A security guard holds open the door.

PA: Your attention please, the museum will close in 15 minutes.

The woman walks past enormous paintings in the foyer. Next to stairs with a sign that says Employees Only, she takes out a piece of paper, looks around, and walks down.

She looks at a keypad to the Archive Room. She taps it in. It flashes red. She types it in again and the door swings open with a heavy clank. Leaving the archive door open, without caring if anyone catches her, she immediately walks to a drawer of old scrolls and sifts through them. She closes the drawer and looks through a second drawer. She takes out a few sheets of old papers in plastic slipcovers, look at them self-satisfiedly, and then puts them in her large, black purse.

A security guard stands in the room. "Excuse me, ma'am. Visitors are not allowed in this room."

She looks at him. Black smoke flows out of her mouth and into the guard's mouth. The woman collapses on the floor.

The security guard's eyes turn black. He takes the papers from the woman, and walkies, "Emergency in the archive room. Need a document handler, copy."

"Copy that," a voice crackles over the walkie.

A man and a woman walk into the room. "Good-" the woman says before catching herself, looking at the woman on the floor.

"The thief had this document," the demon in the security guard says.

"Callum, take care of it, I'll make the calls," the woman says.

"Put the document down," Callum says as the woman walks out.

"Is there a copy of this in the archive?" the demon asks.

"No, there's not. Put it down. Wally," Callum sneers.

The guard steps close to Callum and punches him in the neck. Callum falls.

Later, down an alley in the wet, dark night, the demon hands the papers over to a man.

"Well done," the other man says.

"How do you think Asmodeus will reward us?" the demon in the security guard says.

The man takes out an angel blade and stabs the security guard. Light glares from the guard's eyes and mouth. He falls.

The man dials his cell phone.

"Yeah?" a muffled voice says from the phone.

"Dean Winchester," the man says.

"Who's this?" a man's voice asks from the phone.

"I have something you might be interested in," the man says.

 **SUPERNATURAL**

 **Bunker.**

Dean cleans his M1911, his stuff spread on a table in the Bunker's kitchen. Sam's standing next to the table.

Sam says, "We gotta find something in the Lore or wait for Jack to make a mistake."

"Yeah, well, Jack's mistakes are what I'm worried about," Dean says. Dean's phone rings from the table. He puts it on speaker. "Yeah."

"Dean Winchester," a man says.

Sam hovers over Dean's shoulder with a frown. "Who's this?"

"I have something you might be interested in," the man says.

"No, we're happy with our cable provider," Dean snarks.

"What about your nephilim?" the man asks. "Word on the street is he's gone rogue."

"Yeah, what street is that," Dean says.

"Hell Street," the man says. A bright street light shines through the misty night where the demon is standing.

Sam mouths, "Demon."

Dean glares at him.

"What if I told you I had a way to find your boy?" the man says. "Meet me at Smile Diner in Kansas City, at 12:45pm."

The man disconnects with a bright smile.

 **Kansas City**

Dean and Sam walk past Bangtown Beauty and Barber on a busy street.

"I told myself, after Crowley, no more demons," Dean says careless of listening ears. It's overcast and gray.

"Dean. We don't know what the deal is," Sam says. "Let's hear the guy out."

They look in the diner's glass windows as they walk by. The man is sitting at one of two tables in the cramped restaurant, next to the windows. He stands out in his nice winter clothing among the turquoise-green mottled booths. No one else is in the diner.

The man stands. "The famous Winchesters. Barthamus, Bart's fine. Please, sit." Bart gestures at the chairs across from him.

Sam and Dean get closer, but don't sit down.

"I ordered cherry pie," Bart pushes the pie across the table to Dean, who doesn't touch it.

"Well, Bart, I don't know what you heard about us, but-" Dean says.

"Everything. I've been following your careers," Bart says. "You're a real pain in the pitchfork and the halo. Natural disruptors. We have that in common, you and I."

"Twinsies," Dean says.

"You had something for us," Sam says.

Bart takes out a paper in a plastic sleeves and shows it to Sam. "That is a genuine nephilim tracking spell."

"Yeah, and I just won the powerball," Dean says as Sam looks over the spell. Sam sinks into a chair as he reads.

"You don't believe me," Bart says.

"You think," Dean says, hovering over Sam.

"Even if this is real," Sam says.

"It's real," Bart says.

"Why would you give it to us?" Sam says.

"I'm a crossroads demon. And after Crowley was promoted to King of Hell, ... The Crossroads Demon. Helping people's what I do. My raison d'etre," Bart says.

"So what's the catch?" Sam says.

"I do need something in return, call it a little favor. That's half the spell. I'll give you the other half, after," Bart says.

"After what?" Dean demands while Sam looks at the papers.

"After you recover an item for me," Bart says.

"What item?" Sam asks.

"A very precious, very valuable item. You don't need to know the details," Bart says.

"No," Dean says. "You want to deal, you don't yank my chain."

"How very Dean of you," Bart says. "You're the smart one, Sam," He tosses a card on the table. "Call me." Bart disappears.

 **Bunker. Library**

"No, I can't meet right now. I'm on the trail of a possible lead," Cas' voice comes over the phone.

"Right, well, meet us as soon as you can," Sam says and disconnects.

"That's not suspicious at all," Dean says, looking at Sam's laptop, open to a news site, and then at the paper from the demon and photocopies of an ancient book.

"Well his GPS doesn't show up and the tracking spell failed," Sam says. "So he's in Heaven or Hell or the U.K."

"I'm one phone call from summoning his feathery ass," Dean says.

Sam grimaces and looks at the paper from the demon. "I think it checks out. I put together a rough translation. It's Canaanite, from the time of King Solomon, who commissioned it from … a sorcerer, Asmodeus ... to keep tabs on the Queen of Sheba, who, according to the Lore, was half-angel," Sam says.

"Asmodeus, like the current King of Hell, Asmodeus," Dean says.

"Maybe," Sam says.

"So why hasn't he used the spell?" Dean asks.

"I don't know," Sam says. "But it looks like the spell would work."

"If we had the other half," Dean says.

"Yeah," Sam says. "The Museum of Cambridge had a break-in." He shows Dean the Odd News website: 'Drunk Woman and Guard Steal Ancient Document And Forget It Happened!' "If I contact the Museum or hack their archives, it might attract the attention of the British of Men of Letters."

Dean and Sam look at each other.

"Whatever Bart's game is … I don't want to play it, but it looks like the better choice," Sam says.

"Sammy, you know these things don't usually go our way," Dean says.

"It doesn't matter. Jack is out there, in the world. And he's alone and scared and dangerous. He was alone and scared when he was with us. If this is our chance to find him, we have to take it," Sam says.

 **A factory. Night.**

Sam and Dean walk down a hallway, past an open storage area of steel girders.

In a part of the cafeteria, sectioned off by a movable whiteboard, a male and a female demon sit on chairs in front of a table. The woman is on her phone and the man takes a sip of water.

"Relax, they'll be here," Bart says to himself.

Sam and Dean walk into the 'office'.

"Sam, Dean, welcome," Bart says.

"Who are your friends?" Dean demands angrily.

"This young lady is Smash," the woman holds up two fingers in a peace sign, "...And this is Grab," Bart indicates the man.

"Hiya," Grab says in a stoned voice.

"Smash and Grab, really?" Sam says.

"Not our real names," Smash says without looking up from her phone.

"No kidding," Dean says.

"Smash can bypass any security designed by man," Bart says. "And Grab is an expert at bypassing supernatural barriers."

"Fine, lay it out for us, Steven Soderberg," Dean says.

"His name is Luther Shrike," Bart says with a smile, turning to the whiteboard. "Paranoid hoarder with a rabid appetite for collecting rare supernatural objects. And, he has something of mine."

"What'd he take? Your Rainbow Dash plushie?" Dean says.

"What I want is in a mahogany trunk locked in a safe in a vault room on the grounds of Shrike's mansion," Bart the Brony says. "You will bring me that trunk."

"Why don't you take it back yourself?" Sam asks.

"His property is warded inside and out. Grab can locate the vault room, but the only thing that can allow you to cross freely through his wards is the blood of a man who's been to Hell and back. Tell me, Dean, do you know any men like that?" Bart says.

Dean pulls up his sleeve. "So take my blood and give us the spell."

"Oh no, it needs to come straight from the living source itself to open the vault door," Bart says. "And it must be fresh to cross the wards."

"How'd you find that out?" Dean asks.

"That's where my last team failed. And when it comes to Shrike, I need some … creative people there if he throws any curveballs," Bart clicks his tongue.

"How does Shrike get past his wards?" Sam says.

"His blood," Bart says.

"What is he?" Dean asks.

"Luther is human, but he gets around. He's a sadist and murderer who will do anything to add to his collection," Bart says.

"We'll see about that," Dean says.

"What's in the trunk?" Sam asks.

"What's in the trunk? You don't need to know. You bring it to me, unopened, and I'll give you the other half of the spell," Bart says.

"Sorry, not good enough," Sam bluffs.

"Do this job for me, or I give the spell to Asmodeus. I made copies." Bart smiles.

Sam and Dean look at each other.

"Alright, if we're doing this, we need a distraction to keep Shrike busy, while we look for your trunk," Sam says.

"Of course," Bart says. "It's kismet, working together. I have his email address and you may pose as a seller to gain entrance to the grounds of his mansion. He allows no one else on the grounds. He'll never see us coming."

 **Mansion. Day.**

"They're coming," Luther Shrike says.

"Asmodeus isn't your enemy," a man in a black suit says.

"He wants to use me as bait," Luther Shrike says.

"Barthamus is coming. All Asmodeus wants is for you to give us a call when he comes," the demon in the black suit says.

"I could… Exorcizamus te..." Luther starts an exorcism.

"You're making a mistake!" the demon says.

"I don't take orders from you, hellspawn," Luther Shrike says and finishes the exorcism. He opens the front door. Black smoke flies into the night sky.

 **Mansion. Night.**

Sam drives up to the gate of a mansion in a dark-colored Jeep Cherokee.

In the footwell, Dean looks at a pair of feet in colorful women's lace-up shoes. "Hey Winona."

Shrike looks up from under a dark blanket.

"The 90's called, they'd like their boots back," Dean says.

"Shh!" Smash says.

"Shut up!" Sam says as he rolls up to the intercom. "It's John Dortmunder," he says nervously. "We emailed about my family heirloom."

The gate whirs open.

Sam drives through. He pauses on the gravel road. "Clear."

Smash's shoes step on the gravel.

"Dean?" Sam says as he looks out the window.

"Yeah," Dean says.

"Don't get dead," Sam says.

"I won't," Dean says and moves away. "Let's go."

Sam drives on.

He parks the car and gets out in the misty night. He buzzes the doorbell, carrying a leather box.

A heavy metal door swings open without a person on the other side.

Sam enters cautiously. He notices a circular spell trap in the entryway.

"I'm in here," a voice calls out.

Sam opens a door into a study/sitting room. Luther Shrike sits on an ornate chair behind a desk.

 **Grounds. Night.**

Meanwhile, on the grounds, Dean and Smash walk to a wooden shed, lighting their way with bright flashlights. Dean opens the gate to the shed, "Get in." Behind him, Smash has frozen a few paces back.

Dean turns around. He shines his flashlight on her bug-eyed face. He takes out a knife, cuts himself and and dabs Smash's hand with his blood.

Smash staggers into movement and gulps a breath. "Thanks." She looks at Dean.

"You okay?" Dean asks.

"Peachy," she says.

Dean ushers her into the shed, where he draws a sigil on the gravel floor and gets out sulfur and other ingredients. Bored, Smash takes out a soda and pops it open with a crisp _crrrk_. She takes a drink and burps.

"You are weird. Is that Nerve Damage? Hah, I used to live on that crap when I was a kid," Dean says. "Didn't know they made that anymore."

"Amazon," Smash says in her light voice. "Retro candy and sodas are a thing."

"Huh," Dean says.

Smash takes out another can. Dean looks up. She tosses it to him and Dean takes a drink, then sets it down and continues with the spell.

"So … safecracking," Dean says.

"Yep," Smash says.

"I don't have to tell you working for demons isn't smart," Dean says.

"You're working for demons," Smash says.

"It was the better choice," Dean says.

"I don't have a choice," Smash says.

"You get in trouble?" Dean asks.

"How long does a demon summoning spell take?" Smash asks.

Dean gives her a look, pours more sulfur into a bowl, then takes out a box of matches and drops a match in the bowl. The bowl whooshes with flame.

Grab appears.

Smash dabs Dean's blood on his arm in a symbol.

"Cool," Grab says, stirring into motion.

"Alright, so where's this vault room?" Dean asks.

"Don't know. It's hidden under a cloaking spell," Grab says.

"Awesome," Dean says.

"Don't worry, Chief, I got this," Grab says. "Or should I say, you got this," he clicks his tongue and points at Dean..

"Me?" Dean says.

"Your blood, it's like a dowsing rod, the vault wants it. You have it," Grab says.

"So you're saying I'm a vault compass?" Dean says.

"Eh, you said he was just a pretty face," Grab says to Smash.

"Shh," Smash says.

"Okay, how does it work?" Dean asks.

"Hold still," Grab puts his hands together, making a triangle. He chants, "Sanguis infernus, Anima nunc, viam manifesta. Sanguis inferne. Viam ostende."

For a moment, nothing happens, then Dean is yanked around, spinning like a compass needle settling, with his cut hand held out.

"Awesome," Grab smirks at Dean's discomfort.

Dean freezes pointing at the door. Dean grunts and stumbles to the door, pulled by his hand.

"I guess we gotta go that way," Grab says cheekily.

 **Mansion.**

Shrike pours a clear alcohol from a crystal decanter and hands the glass to Sam. "Homemade," Shrike says. "It'll blow your whistle."

"Nice," Sam sniffs the cup. He takes a sip and grimaces. "Uh, I gotta say, you have a very impressive collection," he says politely, glancing around.

"Ah, have you ever seen the fang of a basilisk?" Shrike smiles, looking behind Sam.

Sam sets down the glass and walks to a pedestal. He looks at a rock with a fang embedded in it. Sam picks it up.

"Actually, that's not, um. Uh," Sam walks slowly to Shrike. "Basilisk fangs are hollow and thinner, carrying their venom. This is a gorgon tooth. Ahem. It's really cool, though," Sam hands it to Shrike. "I don't know why I said that. I would love to see more of your collection."

"Later. Business before pleasure," Shrike says. "What have you got?"

"Of course. What I brought today is very special, very rare," Sam unlocks the box and places it in front of Shrike.

Shrike opens it. It's Ruby's knife.

"It's a Kurdish demon-killing knife," Sam says.

 **Grounds.**

Dean staggers through woods with one arm outstretched, following by Grab and Smash. "I hate this. I hate you," Dean says.

"No one cares," Grab says, in his hipster voice.

"How long does this last?" Dean asks.

"It takes as long as it takes," Grab says.

"This spell is bullcrap," Dean says.

"Hey, a little respect. It took years to perfect that spell," Grab says.

"Son of a bitch," Dean mutters as the spell drags him.

They stop in front of an overgrown shed/cellar. Dean glares at the door.

Smash sighs and walks forward to open the door. "Vault's gotta be down there," she shines her light down the stairway.

"Oh, I'm not going down there, I've done my bit," Grab says. "This is on you, hand puppet."

"I will kill you," Dean says to Grab.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," Grab snarks.

Dean glares at him, then walks down the steps, Smash by his side.

Smash turns on the light at the bottom. A reinforced wood door with a lion's head faces them.

"And I'm supposed to use my blood how?" Dean asks.

"I think you're supposed to put your paw in there, in the lion's mouth," Smash says.

Dean stares into the lion's mouth. He puts his hand inside.

Gears clank and wires whir inside and the mechanism grabs his hand.

"Aaah, uhhh …. Doh!" Dean shrieks as a needle pierces his fingertip.

Inside the mechanism, the drop of blood falls onto a sigil and fills in the lines.

"Huh, agh!" Dean screams comedically.

Smash looks bug-eyed at Dean.

The mechanism releases Dean's hand and Dean jumps back.

The door swings open.

 **Mansion.**

"So, what's your price?" Shrike asks, getting up.

"Uh, what we agreed to in the email is fine," Sam says nervously.

Shrike opens a drawer and takes out a bundle of cash. "Of course, but we both know you're not here for this."

"Sorry, I… I don't understand," Sam says, stepping closer to Shrike.

Shrike quickly takes the knife from the case and shrinks away. "Bart sent you, You're here to rob me."

"No, no…," Sam says.

"Oh, no?" Shrike says. "Perhaps the dose was too small."

Sam glances at the crystal glass. "You drugged me."

"In vino veritas, or in this case, homemade gin," Shrike says. "The truth is secondary to the main effect, pulling a possessed soul to the forefront of the embodied mind. But you … crossed my devil's trap."

Sam looks down at the devil's trap laid into the floor. "I'm not a demon. Mr. Shrike. We are working for Bart, me and my brother, but not willingly. He has a tracking spell we need to find a half-angel we're looking after. He got … frustrated and ran away and we need to find him before anyone else finds him and hurts him. Please, help us. We don't want to harm anyone."

"I don't think so," Shrike says, lunging at Sam with Ruby's knife.

Sam grabs Shrike's wrist and twists it, and Shrike drops the blade.

Shrike knocks Sam into the bookshelves across the room with his right hand. "You're the distraction, right. The rest of Bart's team are out there robbing me blind as we speak." Shrike says as he walks to a rack of rifles, takes one, loads it, and raises the rifle to his shoulder.

Sam gets up groggily and dodges.

The bullet blows a hole into the spine of two books.

Shrike loads another bullet.

"Please, it doesn't have to go this way," Sam says, holding up a hand.

"Human or demon," Shrike says. "You won't get out of here alive."

Sam picks up Ruby's knife and tosses it at Shrike. The knife hits Shrike in the stomach and sticks there. Sam walks closer.

"Bart didn't tell you? As long as I'm on the property, I can't die. It's too bad, I can't kill with my right hand." Shrike smiles and draws the knife out of his stomach. He presses a button on his desk. A spread of needles flies out of the front of the desk and a needle in the side of the spread hits Sam.

Sam slowly sinks to the floor.

"What will I do with you?" Luther Shrike glares at Sam's body pettishly.

 **Vault.**

"You gonna live?" Smash says dryly.

"Ow," Dean sucks his finger.

Smash walks past Dean into the vault. Her foot triggers a trap. A needle flies across the room.

Dean grabs her and yanks her back. The need flies past her frightened eyes.

"What the hell was that?" Smash asks.

"Traps," Dean says.

"Did Bart mention anything about this to you?" Dean asks.

"No," Smash shakes her head.

They look at the floor and the lions heads mounted on the walls. "Gimme a soda," Dean says.

Smash tosses him another can, and Dean rolls it across the floor.

The soda can rolls over the trapped tile, along the floor, and comes to a rest at the far door.

"Might not be heavy enough," Smash says.

"I hate this Dollar Store Indiana Jones crap," Dean says, looking into the vault.

Dean crawls along the floor, while darts fly overhead. Smash waits at the entrance. A dart appears out of a tiny hole near the floor and stabs Dean in the shoulder. Dean slumps on the tile floor.

Outside the cellar, Grab shouts, "Yo, how's it going?"

"Dean? Dean?" Smash says. She crawls in shakily, grabs Dean's feet and slowly drags him out.

"Really, not gonna answer," Grab shouts from outside. "Just ignore ole' Grab, typical."

Smash pulls the needle out of Dean's shoulder.

Dean wakes up.

Smash looks relieved.

"How long was I out?" Dean asks.

"Couple seconds," Smash says.

Outside, Shrike silently stabs Grab with Ruby's knife. Grab lights up, then collapses on the ground. Shrike steps past a tied-up Sam.

Inside, Dean looks in the vault.

"Dean?" Smash says.

Dean looks back. He sees Shrike standing in the entrance with a rifle pointed at Dean.

Dean stands up and says, "My brother?"

"Alive, and tied up nicely. I don't know how you crossed my wards, but I will find out and stop you from doing Bart's dirty work," Shrike says.

"What is his dirty work?" Dean asks.

"You tell me," Shrike says, swinging the rifle between Dean and Smash, who is edging along the wall. "The geas I took on has no restriction on the great equalizer, weaponry. I can easily kill both of-"

As the rifle swings to Dean, Smash sprints at Shrike, knocks him over, then runs up the stairs.

Shrike sprawls weakly on the floor with the rifle.

Outside, Smash sees Grab's body, gasps, and runs faster. She doesn't notice Sam on the ground, tied up, and feverishly undoing the rope, but Sam sees her.

Downstairs, Dean takes out his M1911 and levels it at Shrike. "Well, looks like I've got the upper hand, so why don't you give us the box and we'll be home in time to watch the new episode of Antiques Roadshow," Dean smirks.

Shrike smiles, and then casually stands up, putting the rifle to his shoulder, as Dean says, "Put that down."

Dean closes on Shrike, grabbing the rifle. Shrike knocks Dean flying across the room with one hand.

Shrike crouches, takes one of Dean's hands and checks his pulse. He looks curiously at Dean's cut hand. Shrike takes the rifle, stands up, and puts it to his shoulder aimed at Dean. Shrike slowly sinks to the ground.

Sam is crouched on the stairs, with his feet still tied up. A needle dart is in Shrike's neck.

Sam hops down the remaining steps and undoes the rope, then ties Shrike with the same rope. He looks at Shrike's right hand, removing a plain gold band. He uses Ruby's knife, grab's Shrike's arm and cuts it off, wrenching it up and severing the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Shrike doesn't wake.

Dean wakes up groggily, looking at the scene. "He packs a punch."

"Yeah. He's immortal, on the property," Sam says, dropping the arm.

They look at Shrike.

 **Grounds.**

Smash runs to the gate, on the grass, avoiding the warded gravel driveway. Bart appears on the other side. "Where are you running off to?"

"Everything went sideways. Grab's dead. Winchesters too, probably," Smash says.

"And?" Bart says.

"And what? Job cancelled, game over," Smash says.

"Alice, just because I like you doesn't mean I'm willing to renegotiate the terms of our deal," Bart says.

"So? I'll do another job," Smash says. "Whatever. I'll make it up to you. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Bart smiles suddenly.

 **Vault.**

"What are we looking at?" Dean asks Sam.

"I think we have to walk over the tiles in a specific order to avoid the darts," Sam says. He picks up a needle dart and throws it at Shrike, who looks like a pincushion.

"Well, Shrike's not talking, so I guess we wing it," Dean says.

Sam looks at the floor and then at the duct tape. "I got an idea."

Dean pushes Shrike in a wheelbarrow. With a rake tied to a shovel, Sam presses the tiles and triggers them until the darts stop coming, then he moves to the next row of tiles. Dean edges closer and grabs a needle dart out of the air.

"Heh," Dean says.

Sam gives him a tight smile.

"Right shoulder," Dean calls it and tosses the needle dart at Shrike. The needle hits Shrike in the chest. Dean looks disappointed, but turns to catch another needle dart as Sam triggers a tile.

Later, they reach the vault door. Dean asks. "How we lookin'?"

Sam looks at the vault door.

Smash walks up from behind them. "I've got this."

"Look who decided to show," Dean says. "Why'd you cottontail?"

"You think I had a choice, coming back here?" Smash says. "Bart was waiting at the gate."

"You made a deal," Sam says.

"Wow, you think?" Smash says.

"You made a deal when you were what, ten?" Dean asks.

"If I could take it back, I would," Smash says. "But as long as I keep working for him, Bart won't collect. So you gonna let me do my thing or what?"

"It doesn't have to be that way," Sam says.

"You know, we could help you," Dean says.

"No, you can't," Smash says. She pushes past them to the door. She uses a stethoscope to listen to the clicks of the locks as she spins the dial.

She puts her stethoscope away and opens the heavy, metal door. "Tada," she says flatly.

The door opens on shelves of ancient books, with the trunk at the bottom.

"Let's go," Smash says.

Sam and Dean lift the heavy trunk, carrying it between the two of them.

"Uh," Sam stammers when he looks at Shrike, tied up in the wheelbarrow.

"Who cares, let's blow this popsicle stand," Dean says.

Sam and Dean put the chest in the dark green Jeep and get inside, driving out of the mansion. Sam looks nervous.

On a highway, Shrike follows them in a red Jeep, firing wildly. His arm has grown back, but his shirt and jacket are torn.

"Does this guy ever stop?" Dean says.

Dean speeds up as Shrike accelerates towards them.

Sam fumbles in his jacket. He takes out his tiny pistol and shoots out one of Shrike's tires.

Shrike's jeep turns and Dean drives into it, stopping both cars.

Sam, Dean, and Smash get out. Sam and Dean draw their guns.

"Get out," Sam says.

Shrike gets out shakily. "It make you feel good, whoring yourself out to pure evil, because that's what he is. What he did to me, my little boy," Shrike says.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asks.

"My son, he was sick. Dying, so I traded my life for his. My boy got better, but a few years later, he died anyway. He drowned. You know what Bart told me then? He said, 'accidents happen.' That he couldn't be held responsible," Shrike says.

"So what did you do?" Sam asks.

"So I went to Hell and negotiated a new deal," Shrike says.

"How?" Sam asks.

"Leverage," Shrike says.

"What kind of leverage?" Sam asks.

"Look in the trunk," Shrike says. He takes a key off a chain on his neck and tosses it to Sam.

Sam half steps into the Cherokee and opens the trunk. Inside are clean, white bones. "Bart's bones."

"Yes," Shrike says. "You burn them, he dies. That's my leverage."

Shrike's head falls off.

Bart stands to one side of where Shrike was, holding a bloody machete. "Luther, you never should have left your house."

"You didn't have to kill him," Alice says.

"He had it coming," Bart says. "And, he didn't read the fine print. And I am a businessman, speaking of which, Alice, little something for a job well done," Bart says, holding out a roll of cash. "Don't be shy."

Reluctantly, Alice walks to Bart and takes the roll of cash.

Sam puts his gun away and takes out a flask and a lighter.

"And for you boys," Bart says, taking out a piece of paper. "The spell, you earned it."

"Sam," Dean says.

"No," Sam says.

"Let me understand, you two do-gooding idiots are willing to welch on our deal, throw away your only chance to find your boy, because I killed a two-hundred year old blackmailing piece of scum. Is that it?" Bart says.

"Yeah that," Dean says. "And we just don't like you."

Bart grabs Alice. "Time to reopen negotiations, shall we. Give me my bones and the girl lives. Burn them, and in the moment before I die, I will snap her neck, like kindling. It's amazing what I can do in a half-second's time."

"Please," Alice begs, crying.

"Slide it out," Bart says.

"We give you this, you give us Alice's contract," Sam says.

The spell disappears and a contract appears on Bart's hand. "Read it my dear," he says.

"It's mine," Alice says shakily, blinking away her tears.

Dean puts his gun away and helps Sam carry the trunk out of the car.

Bart holds Alice by the head and says, "You alright? Please…," he gestures at the chest. As Alice edges towards the trunk, with Bart's hand on her neck. Bart tuts and waves the paper in the air. "You could have had this. It was almost all yours."

Alice looks at Dean.

"It's alright," Dean says. "You gotta take care of you, right?"

"Sweet, really," Bart says.

"Take care of you," Dean promises.

Alice looks in the trunk. The flask of oil is spilled on top of the bones and a lighter was thrown inside. "Yeah." She reaches as if the drag the trunk closer, and Bart lets his hand drop as Alice crouches. Alice flicks the lighter inside the trunk. She snatches her hand out as flames burst over the bones.

Bart looks down. He burns and Alice's contract burns with him.

 **Transit Station**

"You gonna be okay?" Dean asks.

"I'm gonna be good," Alice says, with one bandaged hand. "See ya around."

"Hey, Alice. Stay weird," Dean says.

Alice sticks out her tongue and gives Dean a peace sign, then walks into the station.

Dean pats Sam on the front of his shoulder and they walk away.

 **Bunker.**

Dean gets two beers. "You okay?"

Sam looks up from a stack of old books from Shrike's mansion. "Not exactly the best day."

"You got boxes of ancient books to go through, and you're complaining," Dean says. "There's always a first time."

Sam grimaces.

"Well, it's not the worst," Dean says. "We did save someone. That felt good."

"Yeah, yeah, it did, but back to square one with Jack," Sam says.

"Not quite square one. Maybe Shrike's books will have a spell. And we can hit up the museum if we have to. We'll figure something out," Dean says. "And if that doesn't work, we'll figure something else, and then whatever's after that. We'll keep fighting."

"Yeah," Sam says. "Feel good to hear you say that."

Dean holds out his bottle of beer and Sam knocks it with his bottle.

 **In the Alternate Universe.**

"Dead as a doornail," Bobby says, looking at Mary's body.

"It's not that bad," the woman says. She has something in her mouth that distorts her speech. She opens her hands. A soul light appears out of the Veil and the woman captures it with a glass vial, and caps it. She puts the vial into her pocket.

"I ain't carrying her, my bad back," Bobby says.

"Bob will," the woman says.

"Jus' don't lose her to the angels," Bobby says.

"I won't, trust me," the woman says in her garbled voice, drooling out of the side of her mouth. She wipes off the drool on her sleeve.

"Hey!" Bob says, tromping noisily out of the cabin. He's wearing the same camo gear that most of the residents of the alternate universe wear.

"Bob!" Bobby calls out.

Bob tromps closer.

"This idjit here killed a woman I was tracking," Bobby says. "She's got the soul. We need help getting the body to you know who."

"Sure! No problem," Bob says heartily. He looks at the body. "She ain't from around here."

"No she's not," Bobby says.

Bob pauses. "Well, come on in. I'll get the dead body stretcher," he laughs heartily.

The three of them walk to Bob's cabin and he opens the door into a cluttered, dirty cabin/storage area inhabited by a hoarder. Bob shuffles boxes and miscellaneous gear, weaponry, boxes of ammo, and plastic jerry cans and unearths a stretcher. The woman makes a face as she looks around the room.

Bob takes the stretcher out and they load Mary's body on it.

"You go ahead," Bob says.

"Something's got the feather dusters riled up," Bobby says. "No way I'm going out there."

"We'll take care of it," the woman dribbles drool out of her mouth as she speaks.

"Keep those ears clean," Bobby says.

The scene jumps.

In the wasteland, Bob and the woman reach the crooked shack. They stagger closer, the weight of the stretcher makes their movements clumsy.

The woman presses her hand against the door. A sigil glows, and the door opens.

They walk inside. A figure sits hanging in a cage from the crooked ceiling.

Bob and the woman set Mary's body down.

"Angel," the woman says. "Angel of the Lord."

The figure blinks. It's Anna, who died in the Supernatural world when she traveled back in time and Michael killed her to keep the Apocalypse on track.

"Angel. I'll let you eat a soul if you resurrect this woman from another world," the woman says. She takes out Mary's soul and a second vial with a glowing soul.

She brings the second vial close to Anna's mouth. Anna's mouth parts slightly as the woman uncorks the the vial and holds the soul. Light from the soul enters Anna's mouth.

The woman caps the soul in the vial again. "I'll give you more after."

Anna stirs slightly.

Bob looks at the woman. They open the cage and take out a weakened Anna.

"Do it," the woman opens the vial and Anna feebly reaches out and puts the soul back inside Mary. Mary opens her eyes, as the woman and Bob drag Anna and hoist her into the cage, shutting it again. Anna stares at Mary. "Woman from another world," Anna says weakly. She falls silent as the woman and Bob put her back in the cage.

Mary looks up. She touches the bullet holes in her clothes. "What happened to me?"

"I made a mistake," the woman says. "And now it's all fixed." She opens the second vial and lets Anna eat the entire soul. Anna's eyes grow brighter.

Mary stares.

"Bob," he says as he helps Mary up. "Can't say her name," he gestures the woman.

"Let's go," the woman says. "Bobby has questions for you."

Bob bundles up his stretcher. Mary looks back at the angel in the cage.

As soon as the woman opens the door to the shack, a troop of camo-clad angels raise their arms, blue light in their eyes.

The woman steps out and opens her mouth. Light floods out in a cone and blasts the angels away. The woman closes her mouth, dribbling saliva around the relic held in her mouth.

"What is that?" Mary says, looking askance at the woman.

Bob shakes his head. "It's no good. A banishing sigil is better."

The woman looks at Bob. She closes the door to the shack and seals it with her palm to the door.

"More. Angels," the woman says. "Go."

The scramble across the sand, with the woman in the lead and Bob in back. Mary turns around to look at the shack.

 **Note:** Looks like Alice's contract is gone if Bart is dead, and put in the contract burning. Didn't cut much. Liked the new characters.


	9. The Bad Place

**Season 13, Episode 9:** The Bad Place, in story form with minor canon divergence and fixits.

Teaser: Flashback to Patience's visions and Jack.

 **Now:**

A young woman and her boyfriend kiss in his studio. She stares at a black shadowy monster with red eyes on the canvas. The eyes are staring at her.

"That one keeps staring at me," she says.

"Well, don't look at it," he says. He tries to start the kissing again, but she pulls away.

"I have to go to work," she says, backing away and getting her purse.

"Ahh," he says.

"So, who is this buyer anyways?" she asks coquettishly.

"I don't know, he emailed yesterday," the man says, his hands on his hips, wearing loose jean overalls over a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up. "Must've seen the Examiner piece. Probably just some gawking wasichu."

"Derek," she admonishes while playing with his shirt. They stand close together.

"You know, if studio visits led to actual sales, I wouldn't be, two months late on rent," Derek says. He has a slight accent.

"Hmm," the woman says.

She turns as a loud door buzzer sounds.

"Speak of the devil," she says and opens the door.

It's Jack.

"Hello!" he says in his overly bright voice.

"Jack, welcome, you're uh, …" the man walks across the room to meet Jack. "Young."

"I am," Jack says.

"Okay, uh well I will leave you to it!" the woman says brightly. She kisses Derek and leaves.

"Come on in," the man says.

And Jack enters.

"Yeah, look around. I work in oil, digital, whatever suits my subject. I just started a piece." The man strides through the studio in front of Jack.

"You're a dreamwalker," Jack says.

The man stops and turns around. "Excuse me?"

"The article. You talked about your process, your inspiration. How your mind moves into different worlds," Jack says.

Derek smiles. "It's just a story, just for the catalogues."

"You're Derek Swan," Jack says.

"I get it, you read the article," the man says in a forcedly patient voice.

"Your father was a medicine man and his father before him. Your lineage traces all the way back to the shaman Black Elk. You can see other worlds," Jack say emotingly.

The man glances down and away. "Look, if you're not gonna buy-"

"I want you to do it. Dreamwalk for me," Jack cuts in.

The man grimaces. "That's not gonna happen."

Jack takes out a thin wad of folded up twenties and puts it on the table, saying, "I can pay."

The man clears his throat and briefly touches his mouth with his hand, then calms himself. "If I was gonna do this …. If. Where do you want me to go?"

"There," Jack points behind the man. "I want you to go there."

The man turns and looks at a painting of a desert with pillars.

Later… feet descend into a shallow rectangular iron box filled with black stones and water. Candles are lit at the corners and in the room.

"I'm there," Derek says.

Jack looks tensely at Derek.

"This place…," Derek huffs out a sharp breath. "It's not my favorite. There's better places to visit. This one has good landscapes, but the people are crazy."

"Keep going, you know what to look for," Jack says.

"I see… I see a structure ahead. A fortress. I'm getting closer. This world is … not a welcoming place…," Derek says.

"You have to keep going," Jack says.

"I'm not strong enough," Derek gasps. "I - I can't."

Jack rushes to the man and puts his fingers on the man's temples. "No, stay." Light glows from Jack's fingertips and eyes.

"I-I see it," Jack says, as Derek whimpers and groans, his forehead stranded with light. "I see-I see it all. I see -"

Light burns across Derek's face and the water at his feet boils. "Stop, please! Aaaaaah!" Derek screams.

Darkness.

A door opens. "Derek," a light voice calls. A heavy door clunks shut.

"Hey, Derek, I'm - home," the girlfriend says, taking off her winter coat and looking at Derek's feet lying on the floor. She starts to walk to him.

"Derek, what are you-" she gasps.

Behind the work table, Derek's lying on the floor on his back, his eyes burnt out as if from an angel smiting him.

The woman screams.

 **SUPERNATURAL**

"Hi you've reached Patience Turner, please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can," the voice says. Dean's on his cell phone as he walks down a street in town to the Impala, carrying a brown paper bag of groceries or takeout.

 _Beep_.

"Patience, hey, uh, this is Dean Winchester," Dean says with forced heartiness. "Listen, I know, that-" Dean stops at the Impala, where Sam is sitting inside.

"I, uh, told you to avoid this life, but uh, my and my brother, we - we're on a case and it's looking … people are dying here," Dean waves one hand in the air, "and we really could use a psychic's help on this, so, if you could call me back. Thanks."

Dean ends the call. He gets in the car and closes the door with a heavy thump.

"Any word from Cas?" Dean asks tensely.

"No, he's not picking up," Sam says without taking his eyes off his tablet.

Dean's phone rings. He turns it around and shows it to Sam.

"Hmm," Sam says.

Dean puts it on speaker and answers. "Hey Jody."

"Hey Jody, what's going on?" Sam asks.

"Hey boys, I got something for ya, friend of mine from Bismarck PD called with intel. He said that a local artist was found dead, with his eyes burned out," Jody says, walking around inside her beautiful home, with burnished wood furnishings.

Sam shifts nervously. "We're close, we're in Miles City on a case."

Meanwhile, Dean shoves the paper bag at Sam, who gives Dean an annoyed look. "Sounds angel-y," Dean says.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, except for that there was this witness, the victim's girlfriend," Jody sits down with a TV remote in her hand, in front of a desk with an open laptop. "She pegged someone at the scene, said it was a young white male, average height, brown hair, goes by the name Jack." The laptop screen comes into view and a written police report is on screen. "I'll send you the file," Jody says.

The scene shifts: A hand holding a cell phone. There's 1 missed call from Dean Winchester.

"Patience," a voice calls from downstairs.

"I'll be down in a minute," Patience says tensely, looking at the phone.

As her father appears behind her, she quickly places the phone on her desk, face down.

"Mr. Caruthers called," James says.

"Great," Patience says quietly. "It's one test. So I got a 'C.' Not like I flunked."

"So is that the new standard?" James says in a challenging tone of voice. "Passing?"

Patience holds a paper with a pen in her right hand.

"Baby, you know the plan. Perfect SATs, perfect GPA, and you got your pick of the Ivies. You got twice the mind I do. You stay focused, there's nothing you can't have, nothing you can't do," James says.

"I can think of one thing," Patience says dryly.

"What?" James asks.

"Dean Winchester called me today," she says.

"The Hunter?" James walks to Patience with a concerned look. "Why?"

"He and his brother want my help," she says. "Psychic help."

"And what'd you say?" James asks, crossing his arms.

"Nothing. I didn't answer," Patience says.

James sighs, looks away and then back at Patience. "Patience, what's going on. Everything is working, isn't it? No visions, right?"

Patience forces a smile. "Right."

James leaves.

Next to frog dissection instructions on top of her pile of textbooks, Patience turns over her phone, and stares into space.

 **Day. A Highway.**

The view is high in the air as the Impala zooms down a highway on flatland next to an irrigation canal or maybe a small, tamed river, past square grid fields and townships.

 **Bismarck, North Dakota.**

A hand holds a crumpled photo printout of Jack. "That's him," a woman's voice says. "He said his name was Jack, that he was a buyer."

Sam walks behind the woman who was with the artist. "Uh, a buyer?"

She gestures at the many paintings in the studio.

"Ah," Sam says. He and Dean are wearing olive green FBI trench coats.

"Some freaky stuff here," Dean says, looking around the studio. He stops at a painting of the shadow, the same one that the woman said was staring at her. "Derek had quite the imagination."

"He hated that word," the woman says.

"What, freak?" Sam asks.

"Imagination. He liked to think of his art more as reportage," the woman says.

"Reportage … from where?" Sam asks.

"From the places he'd visit. Derek was a dreamwalker," she says.

Meanwhile, Dean flips through a pile of canvases standing on end. "Sam?" he says, catching sight of a painting of the desert and arches.

The camera zooms in on the painting as Dean holds the stack of paintings open to look at it. It's another painting of the alternate universe past the rift, showing a cloud of white energy in the sky above a fortress.

Later, Sam looks at a journal in the Impala, parked outside a two or three story warehouse-like building painted with a gigantic wing in a Northwest Coast-style.

Dean walks up with coffees on a tray.

"Hey. Thanks." Sam takes a cup of coffee as Dean sits down with a creak of leather and the slam of the heavy car door.

"So, the lore on dreamwalking is pretty inconsistent," Sam says. "Uh, there are stories about it across numerous Native American cul-"

"Sam, we gonna talk about it?" Dean says.

"What?" Sam says quickly and warily.

"You saw that painting," Dean says.

"...Yeah," Sam says.

"And?" Dean says. "...It looks like Jack gave up on us and he's looking for Daddy."

"Dean, we don't know that," Sam says.

"Don't we? A guy is dead," Dean says. "Look, I hate this too, but we gotta be prepared."

"To kill him," Sam says.

"Look, the kid grew on me, but we're in worst case scenario land here," Dean says.

"Dean, we need more information," Sam says. "We gotta figure out what Jack wanted from Derek, why a dreamwalker."

"Okay, well then let's go hit up a reservation. Standing Rock can't be more than two hours from here. We'll find out who knows," Dean says.

"Or, we talk to a dreamwalker," Sam says, giving Dean his tablet, with a map and other tabs open to a woman's criminal record. "Nicole said that Derek'd been coaching a girl named Kaia Nieves, to teach her to control her power. She's in a transition center in town, overdose."

"Lucky us," Dean says.

 **The scene jumps: an institutional setting.**

A woman's hands play with a styrofoam cup as a man speaks.

"I woulda sold my son for another hit," a black man's voice says. "I know if I wasn't here, I probably still would."

"That's excellent sharing, Frankie," another man's controlled voice says. "Kaia, would you like to share with the group today?"

"Not much to say, you know. One day at a time. Every day's a gift. Like the kitten poster says, 'hang in there, baby.'" She speaks the sarcastic words lightly.

"And, uh, the incident, are you ready to discuss that?" The balding white male therapist looks solidly built and wears a dark brown sweater and tan corduroy pants.

"No," Kaia says.

"Kaia, you overdosed," the therapist says emphatically. "A K9 police officer found you unconscious in an abandoned tenement with enough prescription amphetamine in your system to to kill you twice over, not to mention the stolen pills found in your bag." The therapist's aggressiveness seeps out in his voice.

"I didn't steal them, I bought them," Kaia says defensively.

"You bought them from a dealer," the therapist says.

"I like to think of him as a small businessman just trying to make it in post-Rooney America," Kaia says in her young voice.

"Kaia, Mr. Rooney's rapid onset dementia made him unfit for office long before he resigned and thankfully, he never made an impact on America for better or for the worse. The court sent you here to get better," he says vehemently. "But if you don't want to talk about this, then we can-"

"I am talking, see? Lips? Moving?" Kaia moves his fingers near her mouth like her hand is a puppet. Her sleeve falls down, showing scars on her inner forearm.

"Let's talk about your scars," the therapist says, deliberately insensitive.

"Pass," Kaia says, pulling the sleeve up her arm to cover it.

"Kaia,-" the therapist says.

"Look, I know you're just trying to do your job or whatever, but please stop. You don't know anything about me," Kaia says, flipping her hair back to reveal her face.

"I know you need help," the therapist says coldly.

"I don't - I don't - I don't belong here. I'm not an addict," Kaia says.

The therapist looks at the large group, sitting in a circle on fold-up chairs. Back on familiar ground, he says with misdirected empathy, "We've all been exactly where you are, Kaia. Denying the truth of our situation-"

"I hate doing that to myself, putting that junk into my body - but it's the only thing that keeps me awake. It's the only thing that-" she rips apart the styrofoam cup, "keeps me from - from the Bad Place," Kaia says.

"Yes, we all - we all have our bad places don't we. The stuff we're running from. The things that we try to blot out with drugs or drink. But we have to face it eventually, don't we?" the therapist says smoothly.

Later, as people are leaving the group, a male voice says, "Hey."

"Hey, there," Kaia looks up.

It's Jack.

"I'm Jack," Jack says with a smile. He holds out his hand. She doesn't take it and he drops his hand, disappointed.

"Hi, Jack. You're new," Kaia says.

"Yes, I am," he says proudly.

"So what's your poison?" she asks. "Why are you here?"

"I like … cocaine," Jack comes up with the lie slowly.

"Okay, Suite Life, well I don't know why you're really here, but you're gonna have to find a new day one buddy, 'cause it's not really my thing," Kaia says while walking away to a table with coffee.

Jack follows her. "I know who you are, Kaia. I'm a … friend of Derek's. He told me about you, said you were like him. Dreamwalker," he whispers the last word in a quiet voice.

"What?" she says.

"He said you were the most powerful one he's ever known. And I need your help," Jack says.

"Look, I don't know what you think you know about dreamwalking-" Kaia says.

"I can help you," Jack cuts in. "I can get you out of here and … help you control your dreams."

"How?" Kaia asks.

"Follow me," Jack says and walks away.

She hesitates, then walks after him, as the Impala pulls into the parking lot, in a camera shot through the window to the parking lot.

Sam's voice fades in as the view shifts to Sam and Dean, "So, Kaia never knew her father. Her mom died in an accident when she was 12. So her aunt took her in - then she died - cancer."

"Damn," Dean says.

"Yeah," Sam says. "She's been on her own since then, until her O.D. and arrest."

"Bad hand," Dean says.

"Yeah," Sam says as they walk to the entrance of the facility.

Jack and Kaia continue walking out of the facility.

The therapist happens to back to the meeting room. In a voice that is aggressive rather than apologetic, he says, "Pardon me, visitors have to check in at the office."

Without turning his head to look, Jack reaches his arm out and touches the therapist.

The therapist falls on the floor in a heap, landing face down.

"What did you do?!" Kaia demands.

"Don't worry, he's just sleeping," Jack says. "You're not the only one with powers." He walks on to the door.

Kaia gives the fallen therapist a long look. She hurries after Jack.

A door rattles and the door handle and lock fall out of the frame as Jack opens the back door.

"That door was triple-locked," Kaia stops to say, pausing halfway through leaving, keeping the door pushed open with her body.

"Was it?" Jack says, almost coyly.

"What are you?" Kaia asks.

"That's … a long story. This way," Jack says with a wave of his hand.

"Yeah, no." Kaia steps outside and faces Jack.

"What?" Jack says.

"Look, thanks for the jail break and all, but I don't know you," Kaia says.

"No, we had a deal," Jack insists. "I'll help you and you'll help me. It's very important to me."

"I'm done," Kaia says.

"No," Jack says.

"Watch me," Kaia says.

"No," Jack grabs Kaia's forearm. "You will help me."

Sam and Dean burst out of the door. "Jack!" Sam says.

"Sam?" Jack says.

Kaia kicks Jack and Jack falls to a crouch on one knee. She punches his arm, and then runs away.

"She hit me," Jack says disbelievingly.

"Yeah. Good," Dean says.

"No, she's getting away-" Jack says as he starts to get up.

Dean and Sam grab Jack by the arms and stop him from going after Kaia.

"Nunununuh!" Dean says.

"She can't-" Jack says.

"Hey, we're not letting you near her. You tell us what's going on," Dean demands.

"No, I need her," Jack says.

"You need her like you needed Derek?" Sam asks in a low voice.

"Yes!" Jack say sharply. "You … you don't … I'm doing this for you," Jack says in a quieter voice.

"You killed Derek for us?" Dean says.

"Derek's dead?" Jack asks.

"Wait, hold on a second, Jack, tell us what happened," Sam says. "Everything."

Jack says, "I left. To try to get a grip on my powers by myself. It was time for me to grow up. I wanted to prove to you, that I'm good! To do one good thing. So I did the thing you wanted the most. I experimented, opening doors to other worlds to find your mom. I could almost do it, I could get right to the edge. But I couldn't see, I could only feel around in the dark. I needed eyes, a seer," Jack says.

"A dreamwalker," Sam says quietly.

Jack nods. "So I researched, like you showed me, that's how I found Derek." The scene flashes back to replay what happened with Derek, with Jack's commentary overlaid on it. "I didn't know if it would work … but it did … he dreamwalked and I joined him … in apocalypse world." The dream continues with Jack floating drunkenly over the blasted landscape of the world past the rift. "I could see what he saw. And I saw..." The view focuses on Mary, hanging in a cage like Lucifer was hanging in. Suddenly the vision breaks off. Derek is exhausted and gasping. In the vision, Jack says, "I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean to," to Derek.

"And I saw her," Jack says.

"Her?" Sam asks.

"Your mother," Jack says. "She's alive."

"What?" Dean say dully.

"But she's in danger," Jack says.

"Wha-wha-what does that mean?" Sam asks quickly. "What kind of danger?"

"It's easier if I show you," Jack says.

"Wh-" Dean says, as Jack reaches out both arms.

Jack touches Sam and Dean's temples and light spreads out from his hand and leaves jagged traces like lightning.

The vision of the apocalypse world replays and goes further, the edge of the iron cage digs into Mary's body. "Help," she croaks out. "Help, somebody help me!" She cries out, like Dean cried out for help when he was dragged to Hell.

Jack releases Sam and Dean.

"Mom," Dean says. Sam and Jack's voices fade as Dean is lost in his thoughts.

"I was so close to her, I could have touched her," Jack says. "But Derek wasn't strong enough to hold the connection so I could open a door, but he knew someone who was stronger-"

"Wait, you didn't burn him out?" Sam asks.

"No, I stopped before he got hurt very bad," Jack says. "He said he would recover, with ... a bottle of Jack, twenty square meals and a couple night's sleep, then he laughed. I think he was making a joke. What happened to him?"

"Angels," Dean says.

"Most likely," Sam says. "Derek's eyes were burnt out. His girlfriend Nicole found him dead in the studio."

"Nicole," Jack says. "So that was her name. She seemed nice."

"She is," Sam says. "She told us about Kaia, that's why-"

"Was it her?" Dean asks abruptly.

"Kaia," Jack says. "Yes, I need her to dreamwalk."

The scene jumps. Kaia walks in the dirt alongside a country road.

A station wagon, old but in good condition, suddenly pulls over on the right. An asian woman with shoulder-length hair gets out of the passenger side seat. "Where you headed, miss?"

"Anywhere, without you," Kaia says walking faster.

"Let me help you," the woman follows Kaia. The station wagon starts moving and follows them.

"No thanks," Kaia says. "I can see your creepster friend fine from here. I don't want a closeup."

The woman touches Kaia's forehead. Kaia falls asleep and collapses into the woman's arms. The woman lifts her easily and puts her in the back seat of the car. The woman gets back in.

The station wagon drives away.

The scene jumps to flashes of images: white frosted trees in a forest, claws, a shadow blurring, Patience's face, a green blade entering a body and coming out the other side, Jody's face turned and sad, Sam and Dean, Jody's despairing face again. A horn honking loud and long pierces the vision. Patience starts. She's at the wheel of her silver Jeep, pulled almost all the way out of her parking spot.

"Hey, get movin', come on!" A man's voice shouts dimly from inside another car.

Patience pulls herself together and drives out of the school parking lot. She takes her phone and dials.

Meanwhile, Kaia is tied to a chair, unconscious. Behind her, an angel stands guard. She wakes up and starts struggling.

An angel walks down the stairs and paces by Kaia. "We want Jack," the angel says.

"Cocaine boy?" Kaia asks in disbelief.

"The son of Lucifer," the angel says.

"What?" Kaia says.

"We tracked him to Derek, but the artist was uncooperative. He told us Jack was headed to you," the angel says. "You tell us what you know about Jack and help us, or we can use you as bait," the angel says.

 **Night.**

In the Impala, Sam's on his phone. "Yep, alright, thank you."

Jack's sitting in back and Dean is driving.

"Cas won't pick up, but cops are looking for Kaia. We gotta find her fast," Sam says.

"You were right," Dean says. "About Mom, you were right. This whole time, we should have been lookin' for her."

"Dean, I was just hopin', I didn't know," Sam says. "Anyways, it doesn't matter, now that we do know-"

"We find her, no matter what it takes," Dean says.

"Yep," Sam says.

"Kid, you okay?" Dean asks.

"Jack?" Sam asks.

"You thought … you both thought that I could do that. That I could kill Derek," Jack says.

"Jack, we um, we didn't know what happened," Sam says. "We figured, maybe it was an accident or-or-"

"Like the security guard," Jack says.

"Yes, exactly. Like that," Sam says quickly. "Jack, we were worried. You know, when you disappeared, you were in a dark place and we didn't know where you were going and..."

"Thought you were looking for your dad," Dean says.

"You mean Lucifer?" Jack asks.

"Mm, yeah," Sam says.

"I was scared, I was upset. But why would I look for him?" Jack asks. "He's no one to me. You, Castiel, you're my family."

"Yes, we are," Dean says. "Finding mom - you did a good thing kid, a real good thing."

Suddenly, Jack winces in pain and covers his ears as a high-pitched shrieking starts.

Dean hits the brakes and stops the Impala.

"Jack?" Sam asks.

"That… it was angel radio. They've got Kaia," Jack says.

 **Atlanta, Georgia.**

Patience packs clothes into a small duffel.

James stands at the doorway with his arms crossed. "What about school?"

"I'll miss a few days, no big deal," Patience says.

"Patience," James grabs his daughter's arm.

"A friend's in danger," Patience says impatiently. "They're going to be in danger." She hurries.

"You had a vision," James says.

Patience stops halfway down the stairs. "They never stopped. I see things before they happen - small things, a conversation, what Shanae's wearing the next day. I tried ignoring them, but now … these are people's lives. I can't ignore it. Dad. This is who am I."

"No, if you get involved in that … you know what happened to Grandma," James says.

"Grandma chose how she wanted to die. You taught me to do what's right, and this is what's right," Patience says. "If I don't go, people will die."

Patience leaves again, and James follows her, calling out at the door.

"Patience, don't. You go there now, you choose that life, there's no turning back," James says.

Patience hurries on.

 **Grey Building. Night.**

An angel saunters out of a doorway, openly carrying his angel blade, grey-painted brick behind him.

Inside, Kaia says, "Your plan, it sucks. They won't come for me."

"What do you mean?" the angel asks.

"Jack doesn't know me, I don't know him. You picked the wrong bait. I'm not the kind of girl folks come back for. I don't matter, just let me go," Kaia says.

"You don't matter, but they will come for you. And when they do, we will kill the Winchesters and take Jack," the angel says.

"Is that so?" Dean asks, walking inside with a blade at the guard angel's throat. "The girl's right, your plan sucks."

"Jack, you should be among your own kind. We want to help you," the angel says.

"My kind? The kind that kills people when they're not useful?" Jack says.

"You don't belong with them. You belong with us, in Heaven," the angel says. "Come home."

"I am home," Jack says.

The guard angel breaks free of Dean's grip, but Jack puts out his hand. Pulsing waves of orange light catch both angels, and fling them across the room. Sam and Jack go to Kaia and unties her. Dean stabs the guard angel with his angel blade. The angel lights up.

"Are you alright?" Sam asks Kaia.

"No, what the hell was that?" Kaia says.

"They were angels," Sam says.

"Bad angels," Jack says.

"Yes, and we're Hunters, we kill monsters," Sam says.

"Right, and he's the son of Satan?" Kaia asks.

Sam makes a kind of shrug with his body and face.

"I am, yes," Jack says sincerely.

"You're insane," Kaia says as Sam and Jack help her to her feet.

"Yeah, the world's insane," Dean says, coming back. "You get used to it. She took off, might be back, might not."

"Yeah, we should move," Sam says.

"We'll protect you," Jack says as they walk out of the building.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Kaia says.

"Hey, Kaia, look, I'm sure this is a lot to take in, but we need you to see into another world, our mother is trapped there. If you can see it, Jack can open a door to that world and we can rescue her," Sam says.

Kaia looks at him.

"Get in the damn car," Dean barks. He glares at her.

Kaia looks at him, then reluctantly moves to the car.

They get in the Impala and Dean drives away from the gray building.

"So what's the play?" Dean asks.

"Derek said there are places where the walls between worlds are thin. Where it's easy to cross over. I planned to go to the Wind Caves," Jack says.

"The Wind Caves," Kaia says. "No."

"We just saved your life in there," Dean says.

"Thanks, but they only wanted me because of you," Kaia says. "And they're gonna come after me because of you."

"Kaia, we need you to dreamwalk for us. To use your gift for good," Jack says.

"It's not a gift, it's a curse," Kaia says. "When Derek walked, he was free, he could go see beautiful places, to worlds that were paradises, I wish I were like that, but I'm not. I only go to one place - the Bad Place. It's just blood and death and monsters."

"Well it sounds like a lifetime of bad dreams-" Dean starts to say.

"Bad dreams…. When I get hurt over there, I wake up with the scars," Kaia pulls back her sleeve to show Jack, sitting in the backseat with her. "I'm sorry about your mom, but I can't help you."

The Impala zooms down the highway at night, the small trees and straight highway look like a toy landscape.

"I'm sorry about all of this. I was like you, Kaia, I was afraid of my powers," Jack says. "But it doesn't have to be like that. You said you wished things could be different, and that's why you reached out to Derek. Derek thought that you could help me and I could help you control where you go when you dreamwalk."

"Why do you keep saying his name? Derek's dead because of you," Kaia says.

"It wasn't Jack," Sam says. "If you were listening to us talk, you know that Derek's eyes were burned out by an angel."

"It was because of me, because the angels are looking for me, and because they're bad. I'm sorry, but I didn't kill him and I didn't want him to die. If I'd known they would hurt him, I would have warded his studio against angels." Jack says sharply and clearly, "Give me five seconds."

"What?" Kaia says.

"Give me five seconds to show you what Derek saw and what I can help you do," Jack says. "It wasn't just the Bad Place. There was … everything. It was … amazing."

"Five seconds," Kaia says.

Jack reaches out with his hand to Kaia's head. Light glows from her eyes and the skin underneath Jack's fingers. She looks awed. Jack smiles, and Kaia smiles and looks amazed.

Jack releases her. "Our powers can be good. We can do good in this world."

The station wagon tailing the Impala speeds up. A second car appears from a crossroad and tries to swerve into the Impala.

Dean hits the gas, muttering, "Oh, crap."

The Impala speeds along the highway. Dry brown leaves flutter away from the wheels.

"Jack, can you do anything?" Sam says.

"I'm not sure, I've never hid so many people before, at the same time, not while moving," Jack says. "And, I don't think I can carry all of you. I've never tried it before. We might end up inside something. That would be bad."

A third car charges at the Impala from the other side of the country highway. Dean swerves onto a small road and the car spins to a stop, then turns and chases them with the other two cars.

The Impala races down a single-lane road. "It's a dead end," Dean says. The road leads down to a shipyard with a decaying, abandoned ship.

Sam looks at the ship. "We'll ward the ship against the angels," Sam says. "Run for the ship," he looks at Kaia and Jack. As they come to a stop, Sam says, "Go!"

They get out of the Impala. Jack and Kaia run down the long wooden walkway to the ship.

Dean dives for the trunk, tossing a bag to Sam, who takes off at a run, then Dean assembles his own bag and runs down the dock. He looks back and sees three cars pulling up to the parking lot and the headlights of two more cars coming down the road.

"What's happening?" Kaia asks as Sam spraypaints angel warding before the walkway, and on the dock, where she and Jack look on from inside the ship.

"There's more of them," Dean says as he runs up to them.

Sam finishes the ward and he and Dean run into the ship. Sam spraypaints the ship with three wards, while Dean gets out a shotgun and loads it with a silver-colored bullet.

"If they get in here, they'll kill all of you and take me," Jack says.

"Not gonna happen," Dean says. He draws an angel blade, traces it across his arm and draws an angel banishing sigil on the ground.

"There's more than ten of them!" Kaia says. She watches as the lead angel stops in front of the walkway.

The lead angel blasts the ground underneath the walkway and it drops, buckles, and cracks. The angel picks up a piece of the walkway, and throws it at the dock, where it hits the angel warding and marrs it. The angels jump over the water and land on the dock in front of the ship.

Kaia watches, flabbergasted.

The wards glow as the angels approach.

Dean puts his hand on the banishing sigil. It lights up, but the angels scatter, and only a few are blown away. Dean fires. One angel lights up and dies. "Jack told you, he belongs with us. Keep chasing him and I will End you," Dean bluffs.

The lead angel gestures and the angels walk away as Dean looks on tensely. One angel dives into the water and gets a hold of the anchor, then brings up to the dock.

"Are they gone?" Kaia asks.

"Shh!" Dean says, listening to the sounds.

Sam paints more sigils on the walls and floor.

The angels start to shake the ship, yanking on the anchor chain. The ship jerks and then rolls heavily. Water splashes on the floor as the entryway dips below the waterline. Inside the ship, the four of them stagger and Kaia falls.

"Kaia, are you alright?" Jack asks, as he tries to go to her aid, then falls down on top of her as the ship jerks. They sit up together.

Kaia says, "You said I could help you find the door to another world for you?"

"Yes," Jack says.

"Then let's do, let's get out of here," Kaia says.

"Can you take us to our mom?" Sam asks.

"I think so," Jack says.

"Do it!" Dean says. Dean braces himself near the opening in the side of the ship.

Kaia lies on her back. Water sloshes over her and Jack as the boat rolls. "Let's do it." She closes her eyes.

Jack puts his fingers on Kaia's temples. Light spreads from his fingertips.

The scene switches to a forest where the bones of a strange skeleton lay. "Okay, I'm there, I'm in the Bad Place," Kaia says to Jack.

"Let go," Jack tell Kaias.

"I can't!" Kaia says in a frightened voice.

"Yes, you can," Jack says.

Jack searches through worlds and sees the pillars of the apocalypse world. He enters the dry, sandy land and searches for Mary. The sound of Dean's shotgun firing is distant. "I see her," Jack says. Jack sees Mary, but the scene in Kaia's dream shifts to the Bad Place. "No!" Jack says. "Focus!" The scene shifts between the Bad Place, where a shadowy figure moves, then back to Mary in the cage.

The angels shake the ship again. It wallows heavily.

"Let go," Dean snaps at Sam.

"Jack, we need to go, now!" Sam shouts. He's clinging to Dean near the entry to the ship. Dean has his bag and looks like he's going to leave the ship to fight the angels.

The lead angel watches them and smirks. The angels holding the anchor walk casually to face them.

The scene returns to the Bad Place and the shadowy figure darts out of sight again.

The orange electric light from Jack's fingertips creeps further on Kaia's face, like on Derek's face near the end of his dreamwalk. Kaia screams. Light floods out from the ship.

Jack, Kaia, Sam, Dean, and the angels disappear in the light.

The light disappears, leaving behind a vertical rift in the world.

 **Sioux City, South Dakota. Jody's House.**

"Hey, Sam, could you call me back?" Jody sounds annoyed.

A knock on the door.

"I just need to know you're okay," Jody says.

She opens the door. Patience is standing there in a tan winter coat. "Patience?"

"Jody, I had a vision," Patience says.

 **Larsen's Brothers Shipyard.**

Back at the ship, two charred angels wings are seared on the dock. A melted angel blade lies on the walkway. The other angels are gone.

Near a road, Kaia lies unconscious, sprawled on her back.

Below Mary's cage, Jack is face down. He wakes up groggily and looks up at Mary in the cage.

In the Bad Place, Dean wakes up, holding Castiel's old angel blade. "Sam?"

"I'm good," Sam croaks. He pushes off the rotting log that he fell against, next to Dean.

They stand up, looking around at the huge trees and leafy ground. There's no rift visible.

Dean puts the blade in his inside pocket. "Come on."

Sam and Dean jump down off a small drop-off in a clearing of fresh, compressed dirt, out of the forest of white frosted trees.

"Where the hell are we?" Dean asks.

The camera zooms out. The freshly compacted dirt ground is a deep impression left by a monstrous three-clawed foot. Dean and Sam jump out of the right toe of the foot and walk on, Dean in the lead. In the distance, they hear loud roars and heavy movement and rustling.


	10. Wayward Sisters

Season 13 episode 10: Wayward Sisters, episode in story form with minor canon divergence.

Teaser: Jody's voice talks over flashbacks to Claire, Alex, and Patience, and Sheriff Donna Hanscum and the end of the last episode where Jack and Sam and Dean find Kaia the dreamwalker.

The scene jumps to Jody Mills' house.

There's a knock.

Jody opens the door. "Patience."

"Jody, I had a vision," Patience says. Flashback to Patience's vision of a blade and Jody's sad face. "Something bad's coming."

 **NOW:**

 **IOWA. Early morning.**

The headlights of a box truck and it's loud motor purr down a road in a grid of countryside: fields and a couple farmhouses. Dark, irregular shapes of small lakes are in the background.

Inside a building, a knife scrapes over a wood block. A bearded man with brown hair glares at a girl with long blonde hair. Her wrists and feet are tied and she huddles on the floor between the wall and an armchair.

The scene swaps between the girl and her captors and the box truck speeding down the road.

A dark-haired, thinner man in a jean jacket crouches next to the girl. "Wanna hear a joke?"

Behind him, the brown-haired man sitting at the dining table says, "Ed. Don't play with your damn food."

"Knock, knock," Ed taunts the girl.

"Come on, girly, I said knock. Knock," Ed says.

The girl reluctantly lifts her head. "Who's there."

Ed looks down, hiding his face, then lifts it, baring his teeth. "Haaar!"

The girl screams.

"Ed!"

Ed laughs.

The monsters hear the approaching box truck.

Through the windows, the headlights of the truck make Ed's eyes glow a bright, daisy yellow. Ed looks back at the other man.

The other man gives him a look, telling him to go check it out. The room is bare. Maybe the monsters are squatting.

There's a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" Ed asks.

"Delivery," a woman's light voice says.

Ed opens the door and winces. It's morning. "I think you got the wrong house," he says flat and tensely.

Claire looks up from under her ball cap, her lips painted a bright fuschia. "Huh?" she says.

Ed steps forward to look.

"Mr vampire," on the box in sloppy sharpie.

"You-"

Claire fires a tranquilizer dart at Ed, who collapses.

The other man stands up and throws a knife. Claire dodges and it sticks into the wood door.

Claire takes off Ed's head with a machete. The other vampire runs.

"Amanda Fitzmartin?" Claire asks as she reloads.

The girl nods very slightly, looking at Claire as if she's strange.

"I'm here to rescue you. How many are there?" Claire asks, her shotgun ready. She looks around. The back door is open. She turns around and doesn't see the second vampire.

The vampire attacks from the side, and wrestles Claire to the ground. "Who the hell-," the vampire grunts.

Claire shoots it with the dart gun.

Amanda looks on and starts as Claire rolls over and removes the head, then wipes the bloody blade on the vampire's shirt and sheathes the machete on her belt. She walks to Amanda and crouches. "Your mother's been lookin' for you."

"Uh-huh," Amanda says softly.

"It's gonna be okay," Claire says, as the rope falls from the girls wrists.

Amanda sighs in relief, in her eyes widen as she sees… a long-haired vampire standing behind Claire.

Claire turns around with the dart gun in her hand and fires twice. The vampire yips and falls with a crash. Claire drags the body into place and beheads it.

Later, the camera rolls back as Amanda runs to her mother in a red one-story bungalow. Claire watches from her car as mother and daughter reunite. She has a notebook open in her lap. Her phone rings. It's Jody.

"Hi Jody," Claire says.

Jody says, "Hi Claire, it's it's Sam and Dean. They're still missing…."

Flashback to the alternate universe: "Where the hell are we?" Dean asks from inside the monster footprint.

"And Donna's handling a case in Miles City. I need your help," Jody says. "Come home... please."

 **SUPERNATURAL**

A red station wagon speeds into Sioux Falls, past the shallow, rocky waterfalls of the river running through town, and into a driveway next to a Sheriff's car.

Sitting at the dining table, Jody tells Alex, "Tried Max, nobody's heard anything."

The door slams. Jody and Alex walk a few steps to the living room.

"Surprise," Claire says, twisting her feet nervously. "Hi Jody." Her face is still bloody from the werewolf and she hasn't bothered to clean up. "Alex… you miss me?" she teases.

"Not really," Alex says.

Jody looks at Claire.

Claire touches her bloody lip and says, "Oh it's just a vampire, no big deal."

Jody pulls Claire into a hug.

"Whoa … when did we become huggers?" Claire snarks.

"I'm glad you're safe," Jody says. She lets go.

Patience walks up to them.

"Claire, this is Patience. She drove up from Atlanta with a vision," Jody says.

"You're a psychic?" Claire asks.

"Yeah," Patience says.

"Cool," Claire says. "You're wearing my sweatshirt."

"I … told her she could borrow it," Jody cuts in.

"It's fine," Claire says. "So Sam and Dean, what do we know?"

The scene cuts to a phone playing a recording of Sam: "Hey, Jody, uh thanks for your help earlier, so listen, we're looking for someone - Kaia Nieves, we think Jack's looking for her, so-"

Dean's voice cuts in: "Gotta go, call you later, Jody."

"Ow-" Claire says.

"Baby," Alex says as she dabs at Claire's lip.

Claire slaps Alex's hand away.

Jody says, "That was three days ago, haven't heard anything since."

"What about Kaia Nieves?" Claire asks.

The view changes to Kaia lying on the ground. She gets up and walks unsteadily along the road, then starts to run, looking behind her in terror. She rounds a corner and a car coming at her swerves and screeches to a halt, hitting Kaia and knocking her to the ground. A man gets out. He calls 911: "What's your emergency?" An ambulance comes as the man waits. A hidden figure looks on as Kaia is loaded into the ambulance.

"Yeah, her. I ran her name through the system. She was in court ordered rehab, and escaped three days ago, the same time and place Sam and Dean disappeared. Warrant out for her arrest," Jody says.

"Check the rehab centers and the local hospitals," Claire says. She looks at the police arrest photos of Kaia that Jody hands her.

"Already did," Alex says. To Jody, Alex says, "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jody says.

Claire looks between the two women.

"Alright," Alex gets up and walks away.

"Where are you going?" Claire asks.

"Night shift," Alex says.

"Sam and Dean are missing and you have night shift?" Claire asks.

"I have school and I have a job, Claire," Alex says.

"So do I. It's hunting," Claire says.

Alex leaves.

"What is she talking about?" Claire asks.

"Claire-"

"If this is about me hunting alone, I'm fine, I'm good, I'm safe," Claire talks over Jody.

"No, you're not. Patience had a vision, and this morning she saw…," Jody says.

Patience starts to talk: "I…"

The view changes to Patience's vision of the monster world that Sam and Dean are trapped in. Jody holding Claire.

"...saw trees, and claws, and a figure in a robe with a blade, Jody's holding you. I saw you die," Patience says.

Claire snorts.

"Claire, she's the real deal," Jody says.

"So every vision you have, it always comes true?" Claire asks.

"I don't know, I'm figuring this out," Patience says.

"So you might be wrong," Claire says, leaning back in the armchair.

"Claire! This is serious! We almost died, last time. When a wraith..." Jody says.

"What?" Claire asks.

"I'm protecting you, Claire," Jody says.

"Don't deflect. What wraith?" Claire asks.

Patience looks at Jody.

"A wraith was hunting Patience," Jody says.

"It kidnapped me, and I saw Jody, and Sam and Dean die," Patience says.

"You're not dead," Claire says.

"Yeah. Patience warned us and we changed what happened," Jody says.

Patience looks at Jody at Claire.

"So I'll stay away from 'trees'," Claire snaps, getting up and storming out.

"Claire!" Jody calls out. "Don't make me come after you!"

 **Overhead view of a large city hospital. Night.**

"The patient in room 311's been discharged," the woman says. She's wearing business wear.

"I coded it for custodial and social services talked to her before discharge," Alex, in maroon scrubs, trails after the woman with a clipboard.

"Good," the woman says, and keeps walking.

Claire is waiting for Alex, leaning against the counter of the nurse's station. She looks out of place in her black leather.

"Nice outfit," Claire says, as she joins Alex and they walk down the hall and into a small shared office. The other two occupants are gone. Claire closes the door.

"It's a uniform, what your excuse?" Alex says as she writes on the clipboard.

"I look great," Claire says.

"You look like biker barbie," Alex says with a smile.

"Thank you," Claire says.

Alex sits at her desk.

"You knew, about the vision thing," Claire says.

"Yup, and I knew how you'd react," Alex says.

"I thought you wanted out of hunting," Claire says.

"Yeah well, if she needs anything, I'm there," Alex says.

"You mean, unlike me," Claire says.

"I wasn't gonna say that," Alex says.

"Alex, if I'd stuck around, she'd worry all the time," Claire says.

"She worries all the time," Alex says. "Anyway, I'm guessing you didn't crash my job for a heart-to-heart. What do you want?" she says the words lightly.

"Two minutes in your system," Claire smiles.

"I already checked," Alex says.

"Did you run rock star aliases?" Claire walks around.

"Hair metal bands to rock stars, nothing," Alex says.

"What about Kaia?"

"I ran unidentified bodies. But, that's it for the national system," Alex says. "There's a Jane Doe in our hospital, but what's the chance of that…."

The scene shifts to a hospital room, where Claire looks in the door. It's Kaia, a nursing assistant is checking on her.

Claire quickly looks at her cell phone as she walks, then turns back as the assistant leaves.

Kaia tears the IV out of her hand and searches the room for her clothes.

"Hey."

Kaia looks up. Claire stands in the doorway.

"I'm a friend of Sam and Dean," Claire says. "I think you know them."

Kaia shrugs on her hoodie and pushes Claire out of the way. "Leave me alone." Kaia runs down the hallway, holding her possessions in a white plastic bag, as Claire follows her.

Outside, Kaia bursts out of the door and a dark loading dock/alley with dumpsters. A growling hooded monster faces her. Kaia freezes.

Claire opens the door, draws one of her knives, jumps over the railing and attacks the monster. The blow lifts her off her feet and slams her back against a dumpster. Kaia looks, frozen, between the monster and the door to the hospital as it swings shut with a click.

Jody fires at the monster, hitting it. Claire gets up and stabs the monster in the neck. Thick, milky blue blood spurts out.

Kaia stares.

"We need to talk," Claire says.

 **Jody's House**

Jody's sheriff's van is backed up to the garage. The garage door is closing.

Jody and Alex wheel a body inside as Claire shuts the back of the van, and looks over at the front door, where Kaia sits, curled up.

Inside the garage, Patience looks on with a scrunched up face as Jody gets supplies and Alex uncovers the face of the monster.

"Uhh," Patience says.

"What's under the mask?" Jody asks.

Alex puts on blue nitrile gloves. "Let's find out."

Outside, Claire walks to where Kaia is sitting in a corner on the steps. "You seen one of those things before?" Claire asks.

"In my dreams," Kaia says. "And not just one of them, they travel in packs. They pick up a scent and they don't stop."

"So, in your dreams, you fight them?" Claire asks.

"No. I run, sometimes they catch me," Kaia says. She looks away, at the stars in the night sky. "Now they're here."

"Is that how you got..." Claire brushes the inside of her forearm, where Kaia has large scars.

"Yeah," Kaia says, hiding her scar.

"I have better ones," Claire smirks, unzips a pant leg, revealing circular scars. "Ghoul bite." She draws back her shirt where her left shoulder has marks. "Bar fight. A glass window."

"At that one?" Kaia points to a large bruise on Claire's forearm.

"Uh, a doorknob," Claire says with a smile.

"Hnn-huh," Kaia giggles a little and smiles at Claire.

"And you know what?" Claire asks.

"What?" Kaia asks.

Claire draws a knife from her back pocket and shows it to Kaia, handle first. "Silver, for shapeshifters. Always keep one in my back pocket," she smirks.

Kaia looks at Claire, takes the knife and puts it in her pocket.

"Kaia … what happened?" Claire asks.

Kaia looks at her. A flashback to meeting Jack starts.

Inside the garage, Alex takes off the mask with a squelch of gooey clear mucus.

"Oh god," Alex says.

Patience makes a face. "What is that?"

"I don't know," Jody says.

"The smell is ... bad," Patience says.

"Try not to throw up," Alex says.

Alex pries open the monster's mouth, revealing two large fangs….

Talking to Claire, Kaia says, "I'm a dreamwalker. When I sleep, I dream of another world, the one where the monsters come from. The Bad Place. Sam and Dean and Jack wanted me to help them open a door to another world, one their mom was trapped in, but angels were after us and it all went wrong."

Blue blood oozes out of the monster. Alex looks at it curiously.

"If they're there, they're already dead," Kaia says. "If the monsters don't get them… there's people..."

 **The Bad Place**

"This universe is different," Sam says. "I mean, look at the blood."

"Yeah, this universe sucks," Dean says. He takes a bit of monster claw off his long stick and digs out a piece of meat. He puts it in his mouth and chews widely.

Sam grimaces in disgust as he looks on across the small fire, which stays lit despite the rain sleeting down on them. "D-d-d-don't tell me it tastes like chicken."

"It tastes like lizard," Dean says.

Sam looks revolted. "We need to get moving, look for the rift."

Dean spits out an inedible part with a spurt of saliva. "If we're stuck here in monsterland, you need to eat." He points his large improvised skewer at Sam.

Sam winces. He picks up his skewer with a monster claw and looks at it.

In the distance, a monster roars. As the view pulls back, Sam and Dean are sitting by the stump of a giant tree trunk, more than five feet across.

"Sound closer to you?" Dean demands.

"Yeah," Sam says alertly. "What do you think it is?"

"Let's not find out," Dean says.

They get up. Dean smothers the fire with dirt and Sam puts his stick of monster claw down. Dean grabs Sam's stick as he walks past.

Moments later, the slim, blue-robed figure with the blade from Patience's dream, looks at the scuffed ground, and follows the tracks.

 **Jody's House. Early morning.**

Meanwhile, back at Jody's house, Patience folds her stuff into her bag.

"So… you're leaving?" Alex asks.

"If I go now, my dad won't be as … upset," Patience says.

"Is that what you want?" Alex asks. "To get out of this? Go back home and pretend you're not a psychic?" Alex walks into the room.

Patience sighs. "This is too much. I mean, your mom's burying a monster in your backyard."

"Well, you gotta bury him somewhere," Alex says wryly.

"I came here to tell Jody about my vision. And I can fight, but I don't want to fight one of those things. Jody said it knocked Claire into a dumpster, like she weighed nothing."

"You know, we help in different ways. I'm not a fighter-" Alex says.

"I'm sorry. If I have another vision, I'll call you, but I'm not staying," Patience says.

Patience walks outside as Alex watches. Patience unlocks her silver Jeep and puts her bag inside. She freezes as another vision takes hold: monsters crash through windows into Jody's house.

Patience sprints to Jody's house. "We have to go, now!" Patience bursts into Jody's living room where Claire and Kaia are sitting. "Those monsters are coming. At least four of them."

Kaia stands up. "They're after me."

"Then we stay and fight them," Claire says. "They're not gonna stop coming after her until we stop them."

"There's too many," Patience says.

"Maybe…" Claire says as Jody walks up to them, looking alarmed. "Maybe not," she snipes at Patience.

"Look, I came here to do what's right, and warn you, and I'm telling you, we're all in danger," Patience says.

"Claire," Kaia says.

The scene cuts to: Monsters burst into Jody's house through the windows and destroy the house in a rage. The light on a surveillance camera shines steadily. Inside a car, Claire watches the monsters on her phone, as Kaia looks from the back seat, horrified.

Patience is driving. She glances at Claire.

 **Morning. A Dead End.**

Jody's sheriff's van followed by Patience's silver jeep pull into a dead end down a steep curve, and near water.

"Why are we stopping?" Kaia asks.

"Takin' a breather," Jody says. "Called in some backup."

"Like what, the National Guard?" Patience says as she smooths her jacket, rumpled from the car.

"Ohh… better," Jody says with a twist to her voice.

A horn honks chirpily, as a black pickup truck with a black bed cover, license plate: 'D-TRAIN' rolls in. The door opens. Cowboy boots descend on the running board and Donna Hanscum gets out of the truck. "Hiya, ladies," she says.

Jody and Alex walk to Donna and they hug.

"How'd Miles City go?" Alex asks.

"Peachy," she winks. "Come on, rainbow bright," Donna waves her hand at Claire.

Claire uncrosses her arms and hugs Donna.

"Patience, Kaia, this is Donna," Jody says.

"Good to meet ya," Donna says. She looks at Kaia and Patience, who stare back at her. "Anyhoo, I brought the basics." Donna opens the back of her truck and reveals a large amount of weaponry that she takes out and hands to Jody and Claire. "So where were you when Sam and Dean disappeared?"

Kaia answers, "I don't know, we were heading west out of Mankato to Sioux Falls."

"So, Sioux Falls, Route 14," Donna says.

"We got run off the road by angels, and we pulled into an abandoned dock, with a broken-down ship," Kaia says.

"We think it's Larsen Brothers shipyard, off Route 14," Alex says, showing Donna her phone.

"Huh," Donna says. "So ... who knows how to use a shotgun? …. No? Lemme show ya."

Meanwhile, Jody says, "Claire, come here."

Claire follows Jody.

"I know you won't like this, but I want you to stay here and keep Kaia and Patience safe … Just until Donna and I check it out, okay?"

"...Okay, Jody," Claire says tightly, giving Jody a look.

 **The Bad Place**

Sam and Dean hide behind a log as large stomping noises move around them, as if made by a large animal...

The hooded figure appears out of nowhere with it's bladed staff. It attacks Sam, striking through the log, knocking him out, and then almost slices Dean with supernatural speed. The figure swings the butt of the staff around and into Dean's throat. Dean collapses backwards, and the figure whacks Dean on the head. He topples over.

 **A Dead End.**

Claire sits in the back of Jody's van.

"Room over there?" Kaia asks.

Claire scoots over and Kaia sits down next to Claire. They look at Alex and Patience throwing rocks by the side of the water.

"Jody always said I'd die hunting, and I'd be like yeah, good, then I'll rest forever with my mom and dad in the fields of Elysium … but it's one thing to think about dying, and another to actually know I'm gonna die. A part of me wants to run away, only I know running won't stop the monsters. I even … called Castiel, but he didn't answer, of course."

Kaia nods, she stares at Claire.

"But Sam and Dean, they saved me, even though they suck and I hate 'em. And I don't want to leave Jody and Donna alone. They think they're so tough," Claire shakes her head. "What if Jody … what if she dies ... because I'm the one who should have been there."

Kaia looks at Claire. "You don't have to stay here. If you go, I'll go with you."

 **Larsen Brothers' Shipyard.**

Jody and Donna sit in Donna's truck.

"You think this is the place?" Jody asks.

Donna's looking out the window of the truck with binoculars. She sees the destruction of the dock and angel wings burnt on the side of the ship. "Oh. yeah… you betcha."

Jody and Donna scramble over the broken gangway, Jody glances at the angel wings on the outside of the ship. Donna notices a melted silver puddle from an angelblade as they step inside.

The glowing orange rift shines.

"Oofta," Donna says.

Jody holsters her pistol and walks to the rift.

"Woah woah woah woah!" Donna says disbelievingly, grabbing Jody's jacket. "We're gonna go back, right?"

"I'm going in. If I don't, Claire will," Jody says.

"What!" Donna says.

"She's my daughter," Jody says. "They both are. I won't lose her or Alex."

Low growls.

Jody draws her gun, looking exasperated.

Jody and Donna search the large ship. Two monsters are grubbing through junk left onboard. Jody and Donna look at each other. Donna steps out where the monsters can see her. "Come an' get it."

The monsters look up. They charge at her. Donna waits and fires her shotgun twice, once in the chest of each monster. The monsters collapse in pools of milky blue ooze. A third monster scrapes over a pile of debris. "Hey, buddy," she calls out.

Many more monsters appear. Donna's face hardens. She looks at Jody, and they run back the way they came. They scramble by a rusted car, with miraculously unbroken windows.

Jody looks at it.

"They hunt with their sniffers?" Donna asks. Donna looks back at where the monsters are coming, but out of sight. She rips out her undershirt. "Hate this shirt anyhoo," and she opens a door, and closes it with the shirt sticking out. They go up the stairs, past a square platform overlooking the room, and through a doorway missing a door.

The monsters sniff at the rusted car, four of them burst in through the windows.

Donna and Jody jog onto the stairway platform and fire at the monsters in the car and crawling around. The remaining monsters charge at Jody and Donna, who run up the stairs.

 **The Bad Place**

Sam opens his eyes. He's tied to a tall stump that's broken off above his head.

Dean is tied up to the next tree, awake, staring at a robed figure.

A monster skull forms an altar in the small open space in the trees, like Patience saw in her vision.

The slim figure carrying a bladed staff walks into the clearing. It hits the skull, which rings metallically and walks away.

"What the hell," Dean says.

In the distance a monster roars.

Dean and Sam look at the odd bone fragments left. "It rang the dinner bell," Dean says.

Sam leans back and shimmies up the trunk, gets his wrists over the top of the stump and drops onto the ground.

 **Larsen Brothers' Shipyard.**

Outside the ship, Claire, Kaia, Patience, and Alex crawl over the debris of the destroyed docks to reach the ship. Loud gunfire makes them stop and freeze, before they keep going. Claire and Kaia look at the rift. Alex and Patience look at the destruction around them.

"That's it, I can feel it like I'm dreaming," Kaia says. "It's the Bad Place."

More noises, gunfire.

Claire takes off running, her shotgun ready.

Alex says, "Let's go." She and Patience follow more slowly.

Kaia tears her eyes from the rift and looks as Patience runs after Alex. She looks out at freedom, then back at the rift.

A burst of gunfire. A smashing noise as a large cabinet falls down the stairway and a monster crawls out from under it. Kaia raises her shotgun shakily. One blast. Two, and the monster stills.

As she fires at the first monster, a second monster runs out from behind the cabinet and crawls on the wall.

Claire scrambles over the cabinet with Patience and Jody behind her. Behind them, Donna and Alex shoot their shotguns.

The monster closes on Kaia. Kaia turns to run and shrinks back when the monster drops down in front of her - she touches the rift and disappears.

In the forest of the Bad Place, Kaia backs away from the rift. She readies her shotgun. The monster appears and pauses as it crosses over, she fires at it and it falls. Kaia grimaces in triumph.

In the distance, Sam and Dean hear the gunshots. Without a word, they look at each other and run towards the shots.

 **Larsen Brothers' Shipyard.**

Claire jumps over the rail of the stair and drops down ten feet to the deck. Patience and Jody crawl over the cabinet.

Behind the cabinet, Donna shouts, "Go!" and Alex goes.

Claire runs into the rift as Jody shouts, "Claire, stop!" and starts to run down the stairs.

 **The Bad Place**

Claire appears from the rift. Kaia jerks the shotgun away from Claire.

 **Larsen Brothers' Shipyard.**

"Jody help!" Alex yells. Jody turns back.

Donna scrambles over the cabinet, barely fitting over the top, with a monster at her heels. They tumble to the metal grid floor. Alex and Patience dodge as Jody fires at the monster on top of Donna.

Donna rolls out from under the dead monster and gets up. "Thanks Jodes."

Alex fires at two monsters scrambling through the room heading to the rift.

Donna shoots and one monster drops. The other one shies away from the rift, running out onto the dock. Everyone runs down the stairs.

They listen to the noise of the injured monster as it crawls up the side of the ship on the outside.

Donna says, "Soon as they come back, what d'you say we sink the whole ship."

"Or put a cage around the rift," Alex says, clutching her shotgun.

"Good idea," Donna says. "Like shooting fish in a barrel."

"They're not all dead here," Patience says.

"One more, maybe two," Donna says. "I'll take a looksee on the dock, flush it out." She exchanges looks with Jody.

Jody looks at Alex, who walks to Donna. They go to the dock.

 **The Bad Place.**

Claire looks at the monster bodies and shares a look with Kaia. "Hey. Nice."

Kaia smirks. "Shotguns, they level the playing field," but looks warily at the rift and around, at the surrounding forest. "Wish I had these in my dreams."

 **Larsen Brothers' Shipyard.**

On the dock, Donna and Alex flush out the monster, which crawls up the side of the ship and breaks in a porthole.

Donna and Alex run back inside.

"It got in upstairs," Alex says.

"We heard," Patience says.

Donna and Alex run up the stairs.

 **The Bad Place.**

Claire looks around. "So Sam and-"

There's a loud crashing and noises from an unseen monster. Claire looks around nervously. Kaia looks but is less rattled.

"If they're near here, they heard the shots," Kaia says, looking out at the forest. Unspoken: that everything else heard the shots too. "But the rift's closing, I can feel it. Jack did that much for me at least."

Claire readies her shotgun. "Jody's got our side. Let's go."

"No," Kaia says in a pained voice. "This is as far as we wanna get. And, where would we look?" Kaia gestures at the forest as she says, "I walk in my dreams, that's it."

 **Larsen Brothers' Shipyard**

A monster slips out from behind the fallen cabinet and crawls on the wall.

Patience shoots the monster once, then freezes as a vision hits her. She sees the monster claws, and the robed figure's blade, and Claire in Jody's arms.

Patience shakes free of the vision.

The monster is on the floor, dead.

Donna and Alex clatter down the stairs.

"Was that a vision?" Alex asks.

"Yeah. Nothing's changed," Patience sounds concerned.

Donna eyes Patience and the rift. "Thatsa-"

A noise.

"Last one, here we come," Donna says. Alex follows her deeper into the ship.

As they walk out of sight, Claire steps through the rift. She looks at Jody and Patience. "I need help. She won't look for them."

"I'll go," Jody says.

Patience gives Jody a look and clutches her shotgun.

 **The Bad Place**

Noises. Sam and Dean circle a hollowed out tree.

Kaia: "-"

Claire: "Jody was right here."

Kaia: "Maybe they're fightin' the monsters on the other side."

Claire hesitates: "Maybe."

Dean ducks inside and looks out a knothole. The terrain is slightly different. Dean squirms out the knothole. Claire and Kaia and the rift are visible in a clearing in the distance. Dean looks back, and the hollowed out tree is gone.

Sam appears out of nothing.

They walk into the clearing.

"Hey, my heroes," Dean says with a grin. Sam looks at Claire and Kaia as they walk up to rift.

"You're alive," Claire says.

"Where's Jack?" Sam asks.

Kaia speaks up. "You and Dean came here. Jack must've went to the world with your mom, I felt it, like I was awake inside one of my dreams. It sucked."

The staff-wielding robed figure appears across the clearing.

"Look out!" Claire yells, as she levels her shotgun. Time seems to slow for Claire, Sam, and Dean, but Kaia moves at a normal speed.

Kaia shouts over Claire, "Run!"

Claire tries to fire. Sam steps through the rift. Kaia brings up her shotgun, but it doesn't fire. She swings the shotgun at the robed figure, blocking the staff.

Claire slowly draws a blade to face the robed figure. Dean grabs Claire and turns to step into the rift.

The figure drives a blade into Kaia's body.

Claire looks back and sees Kaia's body fall.

 **Larsen Brothers' Shipyard**

Dean steps out of the rift with Claire.

Sam and the others are ready, facing the rift with their weapons.

Dean looks at Sam, releasing Claire.

"We were gone for days," Sam says, staring at the rift and Claire, who spins around to run back in as Dean turns around to face the rift, which is shrinking.

Dean says, "Huh."

The rift shrinks down to nothing.

"No!" Claire screams. "No!"

"Kaia's smart, she's a survivor-" Sam starts to say.

"She's dead, I saw her!" Claire screams. "She wouldn't have gone in, she wouldn't have..."

Patience looks on as Claire collapses in Jody's arm, with Jody's sad face looking down at Claire, and realizes that she misinterpreted the vision.

 **Jody's House. Evening.**

Dean, Patience and Alex clean the mess left by the rampaging monsters and sort out what's usable, while Donna and Sam replace or cover the windows.

Jody drives up with Claire. They carry glass and hardware supplies inside.

"Thanks," Sam says as he takes some of the supplies and glass.

Later, after dinner, Claire retreats to garage, where she stares at the monster. Jody follows her.

"You're not in this alone." Jody says.

"I know I'm not," Claire says. "But she died, because of me, because I-"

"Listen to me, Claire. It was her choice," Jody says.

Claire turns to Jody and hugs her.

Meanwhile, Alex follows Patience into Claire's old room.

"I killed a monster," Patience says.

"Welcome to the family," Alex says.

Patience laughs.

Later, Sam and Dean hug Donna, then turn to Jody.

"Don't worry about it," Jody says. "We'll handle it. You take care of the world, we got Sioux Fall covered."

"Damn right, you do," Dean says.

Dean and Sam hug Jody and leave.

# … I hoped Sam and Dean would be trapped in the Bad Place with some interesting plot, and then world-hopping meeting bizarro versions of themselves while Jody and Donna are dragged deeper into the supernatural world. Sorry it feels a little awkward in places, if you have ideas please message me!


	11. Devil's Bargain

Season 13, episode 13, Devil's Bargain.

Teaser: Flashbacks to previous episodes.

 **NOW**

In front of a decaying building, Castiel and Lucifer talk.

"If you truly wish to work together," Castiel starts to say.

Lucifer's eyes gleam. On the sidewalk behind Lucifer, a kid turns and runs away.

Castiel stabs Lucifer in the chest. Lucifer draws his archangel blade and lunges. Castiel dodges and slashes Lucifer's hand. Lucifer flinches back. Castiel follows, stabbing Lucifer in the stomach, and then the eye. Lucifer staggers back, covering his eye with a hand.

Castiel stabs Lucifer in the head, then runs after the kid while Lucifer is doubled over.

Much later, Cas staggers down a steep, forested slope, catches himself on a slim tree trunk and coughs. Blood drips out of his mouth. He grimaces and falls over.

 **Morning.**

Two sets of jean-clad legs walk in the forest.

"Told you," a young voice says.

"No way," the other boy says. The other boy crouches and heaves Castiel over so he's face-up, lying on the damp, fallen leaves. He touches Castiel's wrist and clumsily tries to take the pulse. "He's dead."

"Then he can't see us," the first boy says, the one who saw Lucifer and ran away.

Castiel opens his eyes.

The boys start and back away. They stare as Castiel looks around, gets up, doesn't react to the boys, and walks away.

Castiel walks to the last location we saw him and Lucifer at, the steps of a large decaying building with two white pillars.

"Lucifer," Castiel roars, in a strange voice. He looks around at the bright, sunny morning.

 **Monroe City, Missouri**

A woman rollerblades awkwardly, but very happily down a sidewalk in a town. She startles a couple walking down the street, but continues merrily and carelessly, dressed warmly for the unnaturally cold winter.

A man carrying a large three-tier cake come out of a shop.

She trips and staggers, but the man drops the cake and catches her. She looks into his eyes, "I think I just fell for you."

The man smiles, "I'll catch you anytime, if you want."

A passerby looks at them oddly as he walks past.

A naked bald man with a bulbous nose watches them with smug, sentimental satisfaction.

"...was a-" the man and woman continue to talk.

"Nice job," Lucifer's voice comes from behind the cupid.

The cupid's smile disappears.

Lucifer hand clamps on the cupid's shoulder. "Another happy beginning, right?"

The cupid looks up fearfully at Lucifer.

 **SUPERNATURAL**

Lucifer slams the cupid against a chain-link fence, that rattles harshly. His archangel blade traces a line on the cupid's throat, and the cupid's grace floats out.

Lucifer bends over, and sucks in the grace. "Very good," Lucifer pats the cupid's head patronizingly at it collapses. Lucifer grabs it again. "Little brother, where are the other cupids? Why can't I hear them?"

"I… I don't know. There aren't many of us left," the cupid cries. "Don't, don't, don't," the cupid pleads.

"Without your grace, you're only human," Lucifer punches through the cupid's chest and rips out the cupid's heart, placing it into a plastic baggie. "And humans are weak," he smirks.

 **Bunker**

"You were kidnapped weeks ago!" Dean says.

"It was Asmodeus," Cas says, rubbing his forehead.

"What did he want with you?" Sam asks.

"He wanted Lucifer and I was in the proximity," Cas says.

"No no no no-" Sam says at the mention of Lucifer.

"We trapped him in apocalypse world, how did he-" Dean starts to say.

"Lucifer told me that the Kevin Tran of that universe cast a spell from their angel tablet. It used Lucifer's grace to open a passage to this world," Cas says.

Sam grimaces at Kevin's name.

"The spell opened a rift that allowed the passage of one being. Their Michael wants to come here for a nefarious purpose," Cas says.

"I told you not to do anything stupid! Meeting with Lucifer is the definition of stupid!" Dean shouts.

"My contact … turned on me and Lucifer intervened. He was weakened by the extraction of a portion of his grace and … convinced me to speak with him further," Cas says.

"No, Cas," Sam says.

"Yes. Lucifer wanted help against Michael, he was … frightened. I'm uncertain as to why and implied that the Michael of that universe is far more powerful. Asmodeus attacked and captured us, and then after we escaped, Lucifer attacked me," Cas says.

"Listen Cas, not stupid is you calling us for backup so we don't spend weeks not looking for you!" Dean says more calmly.

"And we've been talking to you on the phone," Sam says. "We told Asmodeus everything we know, about Jack."

"I feel hurt, Sam, you do not typically participate when Dean berates me," Cas says.

Sam grimaces. "Sorry."

"Your mother is alive," Cas says.

Sam looks at Dean.

"But that is the extent of my knowledge," Cas finishes.

 **Monroe City, Missouri**

Lucifer staggers down a street, hunched over. He sees blurry, doubled figures. A man pauses eating a sandwich to stare at Lucifer. Lucifer glances at the thick coats of the people walking around and hanging in a store, at a restaurant where a waitress brings delicious-looking hamburgers to people. A beggar sits on the ground, and a person walking past tosses in some change.

 **Hell: Throne Room**

"It was a simple task. All I expected those fools to do, was keep them imprisoned!" Asmodeus shouts.

Ketch stands before him. "Frankly I'm shocked you left," he says insouciantly.

"I believe I said it was an important errand," Asmodeus says dangerously. "My initial thought, to keep Lucifer imprisoned was-"

"Monumentally stupid?" Ketch says.

Asmodeus storms off his throne and stands face to face with Ketch. "Indeed. So. Take two. I want you to kill him."

"Kill, the devil," Ketch states.

"Oh, he's running on empty," Asmodeus says. "Angel blade to the heart, he'll go down. Probably."

Ketch stares at Asmodeus with his lips slightly parted, a questioning look on his face.

"Do it fast, before he fills the tank," Asmodeus says.

"And when he does?" Ketch says.

"Oh, then I believe we're all dead," Asmodeus says.

 **Monroe City, Missouri**

Lucifer looks across the street as the other beggar says, "Thank you," to a woman who drops some change into the man's box.

Lucifer staggers over.

"It's your vibe. People don't take to you," the man says.

Lucifer stares at the beggar gets up and hops away on crutches.

"Come on, I'll show you," the man says.

They go to a dumpster, where Lucifer forages for food.

"I'm saving up, saving the money for my leg. There's a healer, I've seen her. She lays on her hands, and there's a glow. I'm gonna get my leg fixed."

"A faith healer," Lucifer says. "Tell me, where is she."

 **Bunker**

"We should have known it wasn't you," Dean says.

"He is cunning," Cas says. "And has an earthly headquarters in St. Louis, but, more importantly, we need to get Jack and your mother out of the apocalypse world."

The door opens in the Map Room. Donatello walks in before Sam.

"How you doing?" Dean asks.

"The usual," Donatello says.

Stopping at the map table, in front of a box, Sam says, "We don't have the angel tablet from Earth 2, but we have the demon tablet." He opens the box.

Donatello looks at the tablet reverently.

"These glyphs, they're indescribably perfect, just perfection... I'll need brain food: blueberries, at least thirty pounds, and a bucket of chicken wings," Donatello says.

"Great," Sam says.

 **Spiritual Center**

A three-person jazz band plays church music on the left of a stage in a bright, carpeted nave. Rows of chairs face the stage and two wings are set up in a herringbone seating pattern. The right wing is uncarpeted area and people in wheelchairs are accompanied by family and possibly nurses or aides. On the stage, an older black man sings with four backup singers: two men and two women, one man has a tambourine. The song ends.

The audience applauds loudly. "Now that's church!" a woman shouts from the right wing of chairs. Most of the audience looks aged. There are no children.

The pastor chuckles as he puts his tambourine down. He takes the microphone as the singer and two of the backup singer leave the stage, leaving a tall woman with long, beautiful hair on stage with him. She stands back as he introduces her.

"Sister Jo!" The audience bursts in loud applause, a few people stand up.

Sister Jo steps forward. Below, the pastor leads the first person in a wheelchair onto the stage, which has a ramp.

"What's your name?" The pastor asks, and holds the microphone for the elderly woman.

"Elizabeth," the elderly woman in the wheelchair says to scattered applause.

"Please pray for Elizabeth," the preacher says as Sister Jo approaches the woman.

"We pray for her good health, we pray for a miracle for Elizabeth, the perfect soul, this perfect person, we pray for healing," the pastor says as Sister Jo lays hands on the elderly woman.

The faith healer's hands glow. Sister Jo opens her mouth and wisps of soul light float out of the elderly woman's mouth and into Sister Jo's mouth. Sister Jo removes her hands. The elderly woman stands up straight to loud cheers. The audience stands up and claps enthusiastically.

"Thank you God for this miracle! God has acted through this wonderful woman, our Sister Jo, so let it be!" the pastor says. He holds the microphone for Elizabeth. "So let-"

The doors opens as a couple of late churchgoers arrive.

Glimpsed through the open doors, Lucifer is standing outside, he stares hungrily at the 'faith healer.'

 **Monroe City, Missouri**

Sam flips through photos on his laptop, held out for Cas and Dean to see. "Blunt force trauma to the chest, and a slit in his neck." He shows a grainy image of Lucifer in a dollar store, wiping his bloody hand on a stolen tissue, dropping the box on the floor, and leaving. Other shoppers stare at him.

"Lucifer fed on the cupid's grace," Cas says. He looks around. Sam and Dean follow him.

Cas walks along the street. Sam and Dean look at each other, then follow him. Cas turns down an alley, where the beggar from before sits, slumped over. There are no marks on the body. Cas crouches and touches the body.

Cas says. "A … wrongness lingers."

"What is it?" Dean asks.

"I don't know," Cas says.

"Can you track it?" Dean asks.

"No," Cas says.

Sam crouches and picks up a fallen flyer sticking out of the jacket pocket of the beggar. He unfolds it, it reads:

White Rock Spiritual Center. Sister Jo faith healer. Believers welcome.

 **White Rock Spiritual Center**

A background noise of people talking comes from down the hallway. The pastor is in his office, around the corner from the nave. A small cot is pushed against the wall and the whole office looks like the Pastor works long hours.

"How's the bank account?" Sister Jo says with a smirk as she walks in and closes the door.

"Excellent," the pastor hugs Sister Jo briefly. He sits down at the desk and logs into a bank account on the computer, showing it to her. "I ordered supplies ... and there's money for the next year's donations to the Bridge Club and two more scholarships if that's where we put the funds. Colleen's planning to livestream the next service…I-"

Footsteps in the nave. Sister Jo turns and looks out tensely. She opens the door. The pastor gets up. They walk down the hallway and around the corner.

Lucifer stands by the front doors. A few groups of people are standing in the aisles, chatting.

Sister Jo gives the pastor a look.

The pastor announces, "Please, friends, let's all go to supper," he stands with his arms open for a moment and the chatty people move to him. A woman approaches the pastor with a couple friends. "Reverend, I loved what Colleen said. She's never spoken out so directly about taking action in the world, and I..." The pastor and the groups of people walk down the hall to the office and out of sight.

The pastor looks back at Sister Jo before he ushers everyone away.

Lucifer and Sister Jo face off.

"The service is over. If you came to hear the word of God," Sister Jo says calmly.

Lucifer walks forward.

"The word of God, as spoken by an ape," Lucifer says.

"An ape, but a well-spoken, faithful ape," Sister Jo says. "Come back tomorrow evening, and the Reverend will speak on the word."

"I didn't come to hear the word ... Daniel," Lucifer says.

Daniel looks at Lucifer. "You remember me?"

"Brother … I know you from before I was cast down," Lucifer says. "No quaking in fear?"

"Why should I quake?" Daniel says. "When I fled my vessel and the angels who hunted me for my sin, laying with a human and siring a nephilim, I waited and listened, until this beautiful human woman cried out, praying for her husband's life, and I cured him, for a price. These animals are desperate for life, for the things they want, they'd do almost anything, pay almost anything." Daniel smiles, "...and they do."

"That is very impressive," Lucifer says, stepping closer. "And what happened, after that?"

"I hid and stayed hidden, and now, there are few angels to care if I drink from the souls of my flock to replenish myself." Daniel walks closer as he speaks.

"I drank from a human soul, and found the results, less than satisfying," Lucifer says.

"It's a skill I honed it over the millennia since we were cut off from Heaven... Samyaza taught us the secrets. Now, wouldn't it be more efficient to keep one high-octane angel on tap, take a sip now, a sip later. Not taking all the grace, but giving the angel time to recharge, then repeat," Daniel says, standing facing Lucifer.

"You'd do that?" Lucifer says.

Daniel draws one hand down Lucifer's chest, seductively. "You help me, and I'll help you." Daniel catches Lucifer's hand and leads him to the Pastor's office. Closing the door, Daniel lies on the cot and draws Lucifer down.

Lucifer sucks at Daniel's neck, lying draped over Daniel's vessel - Daniel's grace flows out of his mouth and into Lucifer's. Lucifer finishes and gets up.

"Was that good for you?" Daniel asks, standing up. The angel's plain way of speaking contrasts with his vessel's seductive pose.

"Yes, so much better than the last one, a paltry little cupid," Lucifer says.

"That was you?" Daniel says.

"Yes," Lucifer says.

"Why?" Daniel asks.

"Why not," Lucifer says.

Daniel looks disturbed by Lucifer's response.

 **White Rock Spiritual Center**

The Impala pulls up to the church. A man with one amputated leg sits on the steps of the church. He watches Sam, Dean, and Cas get out of the car.

"Are you believers?" the man asks.

"I am," Sam says. "We're looking for Sister Jo."

"Sister Jo's gone, left," the man says. "I can't travel no further."

"Where'd she go?" Sam asks.

"Travelling around wit' a feller she jus' met," the man scoffs, "Heal folks' can't make the trip to White Rock," the man says.

"How d'we know where to find her?" Sam asks.

"She's gonna tell us where to meet her. My phone's out, you got a charger in that fancy car o' yours?" the man says.

"No," Sam grimaces and takes out his phone. "Is it uh?"

"I'll show you," the man takes Sam's phone and loads the Spiritual Center's webpage. A video of Sister Jo is on the front page.

Sam opens the video and looks for Cas and Dean. They walk to Sam and the amputee and watch the video of Sister Jo healing a man with a scarred face.

"She's an angel," Cas says.

"That she is," the man says. "Bob," he sticks out his hand.

Cas shakes Bob's hand awkwardly and Dean steps in. "That's uh Elliott, I'm John and this here's Denny," Dean indicates Sam.

Sam says, "You wouldn't happen to know who's organizing Sister Jo's healings?"

"You want to talk to Colette," Bob says. "She keeps up the website. "

"Great, thanks," Sam says.

Cas pushes open the doors to the nave, empty, with a low buzz of conversation from people out of sight.

Sam hold the door open and Bob gets up and walks in, swinging his leg opposite to his crutches.

The Reverend comes out of his office and into the nave. He nods to Bob and the group, then turns around.

"Reverend!" Bob calls.

The Reverend turns back.

"These folks are looking for Sister Jo," Bob says.

"She is in danger," Cas says.

"Yeah," Sam cuts in. "A man came here. Did he look like ..." Sam takes out his phone and shows the video of Lucifer from the security feed.

The Reverend looks stunned, then gathers himself. "Yes, he was here earlier. Who are you?"

"This here's John, this is Denny, he's a believer, and this feller is Elliott," Bob takes charge of the introductions.

"Ed," the Reverend says.

"We're friends of his family." Sam says. "He escaped from a mental hospital. We're trying to reach him before he hurts anyone."

The Reverend looks concerned. "He left with Sister Jo after the morning service. Is he dangerous?"

"Extremely," Cas says.

Dean pats Cas on the shoulder.

"He may lash out if he … catches wind of our search," Cas says. "It would be best to catch him unaware."

The Reverend gives him a look. Finally, he says, "Colleen has Sister Jo's itinerary."

 **Hotel Room. Night.**

Sam, Dean, and Castiel enter the hotel suite. Cas is in the lead. He opens the bedroom door. Inside: it's Ketch.

"You," Ketch says.

"What are you doing here?" Dean asks.

"Do we really have to do all this again? Last time we were together, I saved your lives, and you shot me," Ketch says. "Did that not clear all debts between us?"

"No," Dean says.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"Lucifer's back, and he's weak, and I heard he was recently in this wonderful little slice of Americana," Ketch says. "Clearly, I heard wrong. I was going to try to kill him, as you were, I assume."

"Who you working for?" Sam asks.

"Isn't it possible that I'm simply trying to strike a blow for humanity by killing Lucifer before he cleanses the world of all humans?" Ketch looks affronted.

"No," Cas says.

"Even I have limits on what I will and will not do. Surely, you must realise this. I propose we work together, share intel and cover more ground in-," Ketch says.

Cas steps forward and places his fingers on Ketch's forehead.

Ketch topples over.

Outside the hotel, Dean loads Ketch's body into the trunk of the Impala, and slams the trunk.

 **A Dark Road.**

The Impala roars down a wet, dark highway.

Sam gets off the phone. "She checked out a day early to make a side trip to a believer's house in Fenton. Cured three people, ... and she's on her way to Chicago. Keeping to the itinerary, she'll be staying at the Diamond Deluxe Motel."

Dean says, "Awesome."

"This gives me time to contact my contact," Cas says.

"Fine, but we're going with you," Dean says.

"That may be counterproductive to gaining information about the angel," Cas says.

Dean says, "Counterproductive is you disappearing for weeks while we spill to Asmodeus."

"Fine, but you're staying in the car," Cas says.

 **Diamond Deluxe Motel.**

"Take your time," Daniel says.

Lucifer brings his blade to Daniel's throat. He drinks, then heals the cut with a thumb on her throat. Then he cuts her again, and drinks, nuzzling her throat.

They collapse on the bed, lying on their backs.

"It's so strange, that final moment, when you've taken enough grace that I'm almost..."

"Human," Lucifer says.

"I feel emotions, sensations," Daniel says.

"Yes. Hunger, cold, pain, and discomfort," Lucifer says.

"When I'm in that place, I see how there could be pain, and that makes me want to avoid it and seek out the good emotions, the pleasurable ones, love, hope, excitement. As an angel I can only imagine. But when I am close, I see how they go on despite their suffering. How the good balances the bad. When I'm close to human, I think about a better place, how Heaven could have been fixed," Daniel says. "How it could still be fixed."

"Hmm," Lucifer says.

"When we fell, I was free," Daniel says.

"I was never free," Lucifer says. "Always caught up in expectations. Ambition and drive … and now I'm a father."

"Morningstar," Daniel says, stroking Lucifer's face.

Lucifer gets up. "Soon, I won't feel uncertainty or any paltry human emotion."

"And then what?" Daniel asks.

"And then, I find my son," Lucifer says.

 **Throne Room**

Asmodeus sits on the throne, reading an ancient text.

A demon strides up.

"This better be good news," Asmodeus says.

"It is, my Lord. The prophet has been found," the demon says.

 **Hot Wings**

Donatello comes out of the fast food place with a bucket of chicken wings. Castiel leans against the wall, waiting.

"Oh, it's you!" Donatello turns around. "I thought I felt a presence," he chuckles in relief.

"I sensed you as well," Castiel says. "Sam and Dean are tracking Lucifer, but they asked me to check in on you."

"Oh, well, I'm making progress with the demon tablet, but, oh my goodness, it's a challenge."

"Really," Castiel says.

"Yes, I have determined that there is some kind of spell for uh, you know, opening a door to another world."

"Well, that would be very useful," Castiel says.

"Yes, well the ingredients, I'm just starting to decipher them," Donatello says, rummaging in the takeout bag and getting a wing.

"Well, let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Castiel says.

"I doubt it, since I'm the only one on the planet who can read the tablet, I just hope I'm in time," Donatello says.

"You mean, before Michael comes," Castiel says.

"Before anything happens to Jack, or to Mary," Donatello says. "I remember I would feel bad if they never make it out of that place."

"Yes, that would be tragic." Asmodeus appears where Castiel was standing, laying his fingers on Donatello's forehead. "Whatever you find on that tablet, you will report to me."

"Yes," Donatello says.

"Good boy, run along now," Asmodeus says.

 **Portal to Heaven.**

Cas returns to the Impala. "It's Daniel, a grigori angel."

Sam and Dean look at each other.

"It is likely that Daniel is drinking from the human souls, recharging his own grace, while Lucifer drinks repeatedly," Cas says, delivering the bad news flatly.

Dean peels out and speeds away.

 **Inside Daniel's Room.**

Lucifer lies on the bed. He flips rapidly through a bible. "Ridiculous."

Daniel combs her hair. The motel room's phone rings.

"Hello? … My card?"

Meanwhile, in the motel's office, Sam stands next to the clerk, wearing his FBI suit.

The clerk says, "Yes, there's a problem with your card. We'll need to run it again."

Over the phone, Daniel says, "Yes, of course. I'll be right there."

Daniel walks to the motel office.

Cas grabs her by the arm and drags her out of sight, around the corner. "Daniel. It is Castiel."

"Castiel? What are you doing?" Daniel says.

"Lucifer, has he hurt you?" Cas asks.

"No," Daniel says. "Not yet. He's draining my grace slowly to replenish his own. He's very weak."

"Good, then we have a chance," Cas says to Dean, who is walking up to them.

Moments later, Daniel knocks on the motel room door, "Lord Lucifer, may I enter? I forgot my keys."

After a moment, Lucifer opens the door.

Cas slaps handcuffs on Lucifer's wrist.

Lucifer says, "Oh, woah, woah," and smirks at the cuff.

"They made me, they forced me to tell them how weak you are," Daniel says.

"Oh they did, did they," Lucifer says.

Daniel flings her arm at Dean, sending him flying at the same time that Lucifer flings Cas away.

Dean and Cas land on the parking lot.

Lucifer breaks the angel handcuff on his wrist.

"We need to go," Daniel says.

"Let me enjoy the moment," Lucifer says. He closes his fists and Cas and Dean clutch their chests.

Sam runs up with a motel flyer covered in an angel banishing sigil, and puts his hand down.

Lucifer and Daniel disappear. They reappear in a forest.

"Ugh," Lucifer says. "You're the angel with the plan, where do we go now?"

Daniel smiles.

 **Motel.**

Meanwhile, Dean and Cas get upright. "Was that?" Dean asks.

"No, Lucifer flew away before the sigil hit," Sam says.

 **Playground to Heaven.**

"I know we've had our problems in the past, minor squabbles within family, but we are family," Lucifer says.

Lucifer and Daniel stand at the playground holding the Doorway to Heaven.

"Stop." Lucifer says as the angels draw their blades. "Rumors of my weakness are exaggerated. I've heard the problem about the shortage of angels, and I have plans. You face Asmodeus, a prince of Hell, a fallen angel, and he has more power than any of you in existence. If he makes a move against you, you will fall, and all of Heaven with you. You need more angels. Yes, more angels ... created by me."

"No, you can't," Dumah says.

"He can, Dumah," Daniel says.

"Who are you to speak to me, grigori," Dumah says.

"He's with me, and you will listen to him," Lucifer says. "I was present when Dad created all of you. I saw it. I will create more, if you welcome me as the Ruler of Heaven. And, icing on the cake, I'll give you your wings back."

At the mention of wings, Dumah considers the proposal seriously.

 **Bunker. Map Room.**

Donatello places a chicken wing bone in a pile, then looks down at his notes.

Cas says, "Can we trust Ketch?"

"Not even a little," Dean says.

"Of course not, but we need him, for now," Sam says. "He's working for Asmodeus and we need information. Donatello, you're doing great, you're making a lot of progress."

"It's like pulling teeth!" Donatello screams, red-faced. "The power of God is flowing through me! Like a fountain of love and my favorite teriyaki chicken wings! Homemade! I'm, I'm working my way through the ingredients."

"Right," Sam says, taken aback.

 **Heaven.**

Angels kneel before Lucifer as he sits on a white throne, Daniel standing by his side.

"We bow down to you, our Lord," the angels chant, as in a group, they bow.

 **Hell.**

"He left the church minutes before I arrived. Rest assured, Lucifer will be found," Ketch says.

"And killed before he causes any more problems," Asmodeus says. "Or those idiot Winchesters use him to open a gate to Michael-land. Another stick-up-the-ass archangel is all I need."

"Yes, well, Lucifer is getting stronger, and as good as I am, and I am very good. I cannot beat the Devil at full power," Ketch says.

"About that. You recall the important errand I had mentioned. Word had gotten to me that a certain artifact I thought had been lost forever, resurfaced." Asmodeus opens a safe as he speaks and takes out a slim box, and opens it, showing a tarnished silver knife.

"Beautiful, in't it?" Asmodeus says.

"Oh yes," Ketch says.

"The only known weapon capable of destroying an archangel." Asmodeus takes the blade and mimes stabbing Ketch. "The archangel blade."

"You'll forgive me, but my reading of the lore suggest that the … blade is only effective if wielded by an archangel," Ketch says as Asmodeus puts the blade back and closes the safe.

"Oh really. Thanks for the news flash," Asmodeus says.

View from inside a dark cell. The peep hole opens. Asmodeus and Ketch stand outside. "Allow me to introduce you. Mr. Ketch." A battered figure in the cell raises its head, it's face is pale, dirty, and bloody, and the lips are glued and sewn shut. "The archangel Gabriel."

#Skipped two episodes. The monster network episode was creepy but didn't fit right in the main supernatural universe with season 7 Eve. Cas knocking out Ketch and talking to Donatello was awesome. Anael as Daniel the grigori angel explains why Lucifer doesn't eat human souls to power up.

#The middle feels too straightforward to me, will back edit if I come up with a better idea or some good plot twists. Also, Cas isn't blown away by the angel sigil because of the Cosmic Entity partly inhabiting him (my head canon).


	12. Good Intentions

Season 13, episode 14, good intentions in story form with minor canon divergence.

Teaser: flashbacks to previous episodes.

Bunker. Donatello's Room.

Voices and symbols and images from the demon tablet echo in Donatello's head. He scrawls notes on a pad of paper. Food detritus and papers are on the table in front of him.

Sharp knocks on the door. … "Donatello?"

"Who is it?" Donatello wakens, startled. He shuffles the papers, distressed.

"It's Castiel." Castiel opens the door, carrying a plate. "Breakfast."

"Oh, thank you," Donatello says, taking the plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

"How are you?" Castiel asks.

Donatello sits stiffly, waiting for Castiel to leave. "Fine, I'm fine. The tablet has a … energy, a raw power that … tell Dean thank you for breakfast. I'm making progress," he changes his tune abruptly.

"Yes, of course," Castiel says, then leaves.

Bunker. Kitchen.

Dean pulls a plate in front of him: it's heaped with bacon.

"Don't you think you should take it easy with the nitrates and saturated fat," Sam says, ending a calls on his phone and picking up a coffee mug.

"If bacon kills me, I win," Dean says, picking up a piece of bacon with his fingers.

Cas appears in the doorway, looking flustered.

"Cas, how's Donatello?" Sam asks, with a mug in his hands.

"He says he is making progress and wished for me to leave," Cas says.

"Heh," Dean says.

"Heard from a hunter in the UK, but nothing about Lucifer," Sam says.

"We must make haste," Cas says.

By the shore.

Jack looks out at mist and clouds that cover a mountain, across a piece of water. He's standing on a peninsula.

Castiel approaches. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Castiel," Jack sounds pleased to see him.

"I wanted you to see the natural world before it was spoiled. Most humans don't appreciate the gift they given. Left to their own devices, they would destroy their world."

"Why?" Jack asks.

"You've been sheltered," Castiel steps closer and puts his hands on Jack's face. "Let me show you." Images: glacial cliffs - ice falling into the ocean, a nuclear explosion, a bird covered in spilled oil, dead. "Humans," images of war, "they take and they take. They can help themselves, but most choose not to." Castiel releases his hands. "You must help them. You have the power to save them. And Sam and Dean, if only they'd accepted you. Do not fear your powers because they fear them. Do as I say."

"No, that's not true," Jack says passionately. "I used my powers, and they did not fear them, we … we got separated. I was thrown into the other world. You're not Castiel. None of this is real. This isn't right. Why would you try to trick me?"

'Castiel' smirks and laughs. The world swirls around him.

Jack opens his eyes to the grey of the apocalypse world. An angel releases his hand from Jack's face.

"Well so much for trickery," Michael steps forward.

"Michael," Jack says. "I know your name," he says, surprised.

Michael puts out a hand and throws Jack into the wall. Jack rolls over and starts to get up.

"Michael he-" the other angel says.

Michael strikes him and the angel goes flying. "We tried it your way." He grabs Jack and smiles.

Bunker.

Donatello finishes the translation. He grabs a paper and runs down the hall to the kitchen. "Eureka!" he screams. "I finished the translation-"

"Great," Sam says, grabbing the paper.

"The ingredients," Donatello says, completely calm now. "I would have been extremely excited to finish if I had my soul."

"What are we looking' at?" Dean says.

"We have most of this stuff, angelica root, it must be a different spell…. Oh, the hearts of warriors bound in a place that is not a place, a time that is not time," Sam says.

"Gog and Magog, warriors who enslaved half the Fertile Crescent," Donatello says.

"You know them?" Sam asks.

"Yes, the demon tablet has very specific instructions on how to free them," Donatello says.

Cas stares suspiciously at Donatello. "I will go, if you give me the instructions."

"Fine, I'll go with you," Dean says.

"And Sam and I will stay behind to assemble the other ingredients," Donatello says.

Bizarro World

Jack's feet drag in the ground as Michael hauls him to a cell, then throws him brutally inside.

Mary is sitting on the ground.

"Mary?" Jack says.

"Have we met?" Mary asks.

"Your sons, they are looking for you," Jack says.

"Are they here?" Mary says tensely.

"No," Jack says.

"Thank god," Mary sighs.

"My name is Jack," he says.

"Your mother … wasn't Kelly Kline…" Mary says.

"Yes, you knew her?" Jack says.

"I was there when you were born," Mary says. "You should be a child, or I've been here longer than I thought."

"I am 6 months old," Jack says.

"How did you get here?" Mary says.

"I opened a door," Jack says.

"To another world, you can do that?" Mary says.

"With a dreamwalker. We were coming to save you, but angels were chasing us, and it went wrong. Michael … he's .. strong and he's ..."

"He's inside my head …" Mary says.

"Yes, that's what it is," Jack says.

" … I saw everything. He wants to cross over to our world," Mary says.

"Yes. He wants me to open a portal. But I won't. He can't make me. Even if he hurts me more, or tries to trick me," Jack says.

"He's not going to hurt you, he's going to hurt me. Why d'you think he brought you here? So we would meet and talk and when he comes back, … but stay strong Jack, our world's counting on you," Mary says. "When he comes, let him kill me. Just don't open a door to our world."

Bunker. Library.

Meanwhile, Sam walks into the library with a box of glass jars. "How we lookin'?"

"We still need the Dead Sea brine and the wolfsbane," Donatello says.

"On it," Sam says.

Clearing.

"You ok?" Dean says.

"Dean, I was dead," Cas says. "And I was brought back for a reason."

"Jack brought you back because he needed you," Dean says.

"I swore to protect him. Yet he is trapped in another universe and Lucifer is here, getting stronger moment by moment. There is no safe place for Jack," Cas says.

"We'll find a way," Dean says. "Whatever it takes." He claps Cas on the shoulder.

"Yes. Prepare yourself," Cas says and draws his angel blade. "I feel them. They do not feel..."

Dean and Castiel stand on a circle of freshly turned dirt.

The dirt moves. Hand claw the loose dirt.

Dean stares.

Heads appear. They snarl at each other.

"They are making disparaging comments on the lack of an army to face them," Cas says.

"Huh," Dean says. "Stab 'em now?"

"No, we should wait until they are completely free," Cas says, looking at the trapped monsters curiously. "...Now they are bickering about the speed with which they are exiting the cage in which they were trapped."

The two figures are halfway out of the dirt.

Dean steps forward. The closest figure swipes his blade at Dean. Dean blocks it with his angel blade, but the angel blade shatters. "Son of a bitch!" Dean jumps back, out of reach of the figure.

"One of them boasts that their blades were blessed by a god," Cas says.

"Which god?" Dean kicks the figure, wrestling with it, and takes the blade from its hand, falling backwards into the dirt. He rolls and comes up on his feet.

"I'm uncertain, they have not mentioned it," Cas says, not moving from his spot. Dean circles the figures.

"Let me know when," Dean says.

"Now, Dean," Cas says. Dean beheads the closest warrior. The other warrior charges Cas, who dodges, but is knocked to the ground. Dean beheads the second one.

Cas gets up and reaches into the chest of the figure next to him. The chest cavity pops open, revealing a scroll. "These are constructs. They have no hearts. We must burn these scrolls or they will..."

Dean chops at the first figure, which is moving, groping around for its head. "I get it! Burn 'em!" Dean swings the blade through the figure's legs and it collapses again.

Bunker. Library.

Sam assembles ingredients on one of the two tables in the Library.

Donatello comes closer. Sam's phone buzzes with a call from Dean. Donatello looks down and ends the call. He grabs a bottle of whiskey and tries to hit Sam on the head.

Sam partly dodges and spins around, grabbing Donatello's wrist. They both fall to the ground. Sam chokes Donatello out.

Bizarro World.

"No, we will escape," Jack says. "I am strong. Every time I use my powers here, it feels wrong and it doesn't work. My head doesn't stop pounding."

"Mine too," Mary says. "Ever since … Michael took me. Maybe the warding on this place…."

"Do you think that's why my powers aren't working?" Jack asks.

"My headache is the least here ..." Mary moves to where she was sitting before.

"Because the warding's weaker?" Jack asks, puzzled.

Jack crouches next to Mary. He puts one hand up. His eyes glow - dim orange. The bars on the window glow orange in patches. "It's working."

Jack pushes the bars and the window out. He and Mary step outside outside into the desolate landscape.

Bunker. Map Room.

Dean and Cas enter the Map Room. "Sammy!" Dean shouts.

"I'm in here," Sam says.

Dean and Cas walk into the library, where Sam is holding a bag of frozen peas on his head and drinking from a mug.

"What happened?" Dean asks.

"Donatello attacked me," Sam says. Sam's laptop is open to a security feed of Donatello mumbling to himself, tied securely to a chair in a warded circle in the dungeon. Dean and Cas look at the screen. "What happened with Gog and Magog?" Sam asks.

"They were … constructs and possessed no hearts. Dean slew them," Cas says.

"The possessability of it … yesss … protect the power," Donatello mutters evilly.

Cas says, "The tablets were meant to be protected from those who would misuse them. It was … difficult for me to ... relinquish the angel tablet when I carried it. It seems soullessness has left him vulnerable to insanity-"

"I see you looking at me, covetous," Donatello stares into the camera and hisses. "God chose me!"

"...to crazy," Dean says.

Bizarro World.

Jack and Mary jog past a fallen tank and other debris. They slog over a hill and reach a crooked shack.

Noises.

Mary pulls Jack behind her as a vehicle rolls up.

A red light plays across their chests. Bobby and another man leap out. "Mary," Bobby calls out.

Bobby pulls down his scarf. "It's Bobby Singer."

"Bobby Singer... My sons told me about you," Mary says. "You were like their father."

Bobby says, "Who's the kid?"

"I'm Jack," Jack says, raising his hand.

"A friend of the family," Mary says.

"Good enough for me. Get in," Bobby says.

Jack smiles happily.

Bunker. Dungeon.

Sam and Dean stand in front of the door to the dungeon.

Sam braces himself. He opens the door. They walk to Donatello.

"Donatello ... you can fight this," Sam says.

"What makes you think I want to!" Donatello roars. He looks at Dean and in a suddenly sane voice, says, "You should be dead. Only the Messiah will slay Gog and Magog!"

"Well, I'm not dead," Dean says.

"Did the tablet do this to you?" Sam asks.

"Of course, you imbecile! I translated the tablet. I saw the power of God. It's all here, all of it! Mine!"

"We want to help you-" Sam starts to say.

"No. You brought me here to use me, to get a spell. You're wasting your time. If it's magic you, want … Sufficotuer," Donatello says. He opens his hand.

Sam looks on at Donatello. "Donatello, listen-"

Dean uncrosses his arms and grabs Sam's shoulder. He gasps for breath.

"Dean?" Sam says. Sam slaps Donatello across the face, but Dean continues to choke. Donatello laughs.

Sam swings Dean's arm over his shoulder and walks him down the hall and out of sight of Donatello.

Dean leans against the wall and takes a breath.

"Dean?" Castiel appears.

Dean takes a breath. "I'm fine. Donnyboy went Rowena on me."

Bizarro World. A camp.

Jack's hands make shadow puppets in a flashlight. A small child stands next to him and laughs, and an older child holds the flashlight and smiles.

Bobby hands Mary a chipped mug.

"Thank you," Mary says, taking a sip from the steaming mug. "What happened here?"

"Angels. Blew up what's left of San Antonio. These're the survivors we pulled out…. They're exterminating us like rats," Bobby says.

"Michael's after us," Mary says.

"We got some tricks up our sleeves," Bobby says. "Throw him off, for a while."

Jack's hands suddenly change into eagles and antlers.

"What is he?" Bobby says, looking at the shadows.

Mary looks at the shadow puppets.

"A witch, a psychic? We could use one," Bobby says.

"He's a nephilim," Mary says.

"Excuse me?" Bobby says.

"He's half angel, half human," Mary says.

"I know that. Why would you bring one of them, here," Bobby says.

"He's half-"

"Angel." Bobby says. "He's not welcome here." He gives Mary a look. "I see him in the morning and there'll be one less nephilim around."

Bunker.

"Maybe something in the tablet-" Sam says.

"Prophets are conduits of God's power. A human soul would give moral guidance, compassion. He has none," Castiel says.

"How do we fix him?" Dean says.

"We can't," Castiel says.

"We were so close," Sam says.

"What?" Dean says.

"To getting mom and Jack back!" Sam says. "Amara ate Donatello's soul. There's no coming back from that. He was our best ..."

"Perhaps it's best to end his suffering," Castiel says.

"What?" Sam says.

"If Donatello's life ends, the next prophet will be called," Castiel says.

"No!" Sam and Dean say at the same time.

"We can talk to him," Sam says. "Convince him to give us the spell."

"We are not killing him because he's gone cuckoo," Dean says.

"Fine," Castiel says and stalks off.

"Cas," Dean says.

"What are you doing?" Sam asks.

"What I have to," Castiel says, striding down the long hallway.

Sam and Dean hurry after him. "Cas!" Dean says.

Cas enters the dungeon with Donatello and slams the door shut and locks it.

The door hammers on its hinges as Sam and Dean try to kick it in.

Donatello looks at Cas removes his trenchcoat. "What are you doing?"

"I will read your mind," Castiel says.

"No, no, you can't read my mind! I've absorbed too much knowledge and power! It will drive you mad, crazy, crazier than I am," Donatello says. "Have a little sense!"

"Perhaps," Castiel says. He puts his hand on Donatello's forehead.

Donatello says, "Ardat intu-"

Cas grabs Donatello's face and forces his mouth and throat closed. "I'm sorry." Cas' eyes glow blue.

The door bangs open as Dean kicks it.

Bizarro World.

Jack finishes his shadow puppet show. The little kid walks away with her mom. Jack walks to Mary.

"These people, they're brave," Jack says, smiling.

"I'm glad you like them. But, we can't stay," Mary says.

"Why?" Jack asks.

Mary doesn't answer.

"Because of me," Jack figures it out.

"I'm sorry, Jack. It's not fair," Mary says.

People run around.

"What going on?" Jack asks.

Mary looks around and sees Bobby.

Bobby draws his gun on Mary. "You brought this on us, usin' his angel powers!"

Jack steps forward, pressing his fingers against Bobby's forehead.

"Here, follow me," Bobby says to Mary. He holds out his gun to her, handle-first. "Take it, there's a grain cellar, we're evacuatin'."

Mary looks at Jack.

"Go on," Jack says. "I'll hide."

"I'll go with you," Mary says.

"No," Jack says. "It'll be safer, if we're apart."

Bunker. Dungeon.

Cas puts on his trenchcoat. Donatello lies slumped in the chair.

"I know what we need," Cas says walking to Sam and Dean and past them.

Donatello chokes, his eyes roll up. Sam runs to him.

"Cas!" Dean walks after Cas.

Bizarro World.

Jack runs in the forest.

Behind him, an explosion like a meteor falling on the ground. Screams.

Jack hesitates and turns back.

An angel in cammo has Bobby and Mary cornered at a trapdoor in the ground.

Jack holds his hand up, "Stop!"

The angel is surrounded in golden light, lifted in the air. Jack closes his hand and the angel turns into dust and blue light.

More meteors streak in. Jack holds up his hand and bursts the meteors before they reach the camp.

Sioux Falls. Hospital.

Donatello lies in a hospital bed. Sam sits next to him in the cramped room.

Dean and Cas enter.

"He's stable, in a coma," Sam says.

Dean runs his hand over his face. "Cas, what's wrong with this?"

"Cas," Sam says.

"His soul was gone and his brain was injured by translating the tablet," Castiel says.

Dean looks down.

"He was a danger to himself and others. A complete recovery was unlikely. I needed to act quickly. He was reporting to Asmodeus," Cas says.

"What?" Sam says.

"Not by choice," Cas says. "He was under a spell. It is better this way."

"Says who," Dean says.

"I say so. I had the power, the knowledge, and the skill to extract his memories. We do not have time to argue. We need the grace of an archangel, a fruit from the tree of life, the seal of solomon, and the blood of a most holy man," Cas says. "Whatever it takes, I will protect Jack."

Bizarro World.

"Thank you,' Bobby says.

"Jack, what you did was amazing," Mary says. "You saved everyone."

"... I know. They're bad angels. They won't stop as long as Michael tells them to attack humans. I … I have to kill Michael to make it stop," Jack says.

#Will edit/back-edit. We get to see more of the apocalypse world! Will back-edit, rushing it before I watch the next episode. Can't take OOC Sam and Dean without wanting to edit the script … if only I was a script editor for Supernatural...


	13. A Most Holy Man

Supernatural, Season 13, Episode 15: Holy Man. Episode in story form with very minor canon divergence.

 **Then:** Flashbacks to previous episodes.

 **Now**

 **Hamrun, Malta.** **Little Sisters.**

Nuns walk down a stone corridor.

A man sneaks past them into a room where holy relics are enshrined. He turns on the lights and looks at a well-preserved skull in a glass case. He unlocks the case and takes the skull.

A nun is behind him.

He hits the nun, who collapses to the floor.

 **Bunker. Kitchen.**

Sam sits at a wooden table on his laptop. Dean walks into the kitchen.

"So?" Dean asks.

"I've been digging through the lore, but so far, nothing," Sam says.

"Great," Dean says, taking out some meat and a mini-grill.

"Blood of a most holy man - what does that mean?" Dean asks.

"I'm not sure. I'm thinking blood of a saint," Sam says. "Actually, there's a huge market for relics. Hair of a martyr, nails from the cross."

"Oookay," Dean says. "Chances those are the real deal?"

"A lot of it is fake, but I did find one dealer that might be legit," Sam says. "Margaret Astor, she's in San Francisco."

"Alright," Dean says. "Let's check her out."

 **San Francisco, CA.**

Chintzy music plays. A view of the red Golden Gate Bridge.

Dean and Sam enter a chic, modernist restaurant.

A woman with heavy makeup and bright lipstick sits at a table, playing with a cocktail.

"Ms. Astor?" Dean says.

"You have me… please, sit," she says. "So, gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

"We're interested in obtaining a religious artifact, and and and we were told you were maybe the person to help us out," Sam says.

"Really? Who told you that?" Ms. Astor says.

"The Internet," Dean says doofily.

"Is … that a problem?" Sam asks.

"Personal relationships are very important to me," Ms. Astor's hand crosses the table and comes over Sam's hands. She squeezes.

Sam puts on a seductive face and caresses her hand. "I would personally appreciate any help you could give us."

Dean looks on stone-faced.

"Well, what do you need?" Ms Astor asks.

"We need," Sam looks away for a moment. "The blood of a saint."

"Whatever for?" Ms Astor asks.

"Does it matter?" Dean says.

"I was asking Sam," she hints.

Dean rolls his eyes.

"Maybe we could talk, privately," Sam says, giving Dean a look.

Dean gets up, gives them a look, and leaves.

Sam smiles at Ms. Astor. "It's for my brother. He's … sick, but I think that a spell using the blood of a saint will make him better, give him hope."

Ms Astor withdraws her hand as Sam talks, but then says, "Oh, uh, fascinating…. I've seen too much ... to not believe there are … other powers, shall we say. Do we agree, you'll owe me a favor, Sam?" Ms. Astor rolls his name in her plump mouth and chews on an olive.

"Sure," Sam says.

"The blood of a saint, is very rare, very expensive. And, it happens that I know a person who might have the item," Ms Astor says.

"Please," Sam says.

"His name is Richard Oliynyk. He lives in . I'll provide an introduction, but ... that's as far as I'll go," Ms Astor says. "I warn you, Oliynyk wears the trappings of a gentleman, but he is no such thing," Ms. Astor says.

"Thank you," Sam says.

 **Impala.**

"I am close to obtaining the fruit," Castiel says on speaker phone.

"Great," Sam says. "Astor gave us an introduction to Dmitri Oliynyk, a dealer in Seattle, who might have the blood of a saint."

"Don't eat the fruit," Dean says.

"Thank you, I shall remember not to eat the fruit, Dean," Castiel says and hangs up.

 **Seattle, WA.**

"Recently, an item from a nunnery in Malta was stolen. I want it. I believe the thief was working for a Mr. Salah," Mr. Oliynyk says. He is obese, affected, and eats disgustingly while talking to Sam and Dean.

"The Sinaloa drug cartel Salah?" Dean asks.

Sam looks at him.

"Heroin," Dean says.

"Mmm, you've heard of him," Oliynyk says. "In any case, here is my proposal. You procure said item for me, and I will trade it for the blood."

"What item are we talking about?" Sam says sharply.

"Mmm … the skull of St. Peter," Oliynyk says.

"In exchange for what?" Dean asks.

"The blood of St. Ignatius. Dried, of course," Oliynyk says.

"What else can you tell us?" Dean says.

"The thief is meeting Salah tomorrow to turn over the skull in exchange for payment," Oliynyk says. "I have faith, you will find it."

Sam and Dean leave the house.

"Astor warned us about him," Sam says.

"Warned you. You want the blood, you got to do the deed. ...C'mon Sammy, the thing's already stolen. I'm not perfect, this world isn't perfect.

 **Ada's Cafe.**

Dean leans over a young woman sitting at a bench table. "Whatcha readin?"

"Ahh…," she looks up at Dean. "A book on the supernatural." She turns the book over to show the cover: Guarded By Demons.

"Really! So you're into the supernatural…," Dean says.

"I am," she says, chuckling.

"I should sit down," Dean says.

"Dean!" Sam calls from across the room.

Dean looks up.

"I got it," Sam says.

"Excuse me," Dean says to the woman, who giggles at him. He walks to Sam. "Nice timing."

"I got into the airline records, narrowed it down to people travelling from Malta," Sam's screen show's five highlighted lines. "This last guy, Antionio Miele. What little past I can dig up on him seems checkered."

"We're checkered," Dean says.

Sam gives him a look.

"Where is this Miele guy?" Dean says.

"Thompson Boutique Hotel, in downtown Seattle," Sam brags, "I even have his room number."

 **Thompson Hotel.**

Sam and Dean saunter through the lobby of a luxurious hotel with dark wood flooring and matching furniture.

As they get into an elevator, a hard-faced man bumps into Sam.

"Excuse me," Sam says.

The man says nothing, looks back at Sam, and then turns away.

Sam gives him a puzzled look.

Sam and Dean walk down a hallway to a room.

Dean puts his hand in a pocket as Sam check the door. The door is already open.

Sam opens the door. They walk into the smashed up hotel room. A man's body lies on the floor next to the bed.

Dean crouches next to the body. "Rest in peace Antonio Miele."

A gun cocks behind Sam and Dean. "Hands up no sudden moves."

"Take it easy," Dean says as he stands slowly with his hands up.

"Move towards the window," the man says, holding a badge in his other hand.

"Of course," Sam says. He and Dean walk over to the window.

"Sit down, there, on the floor," the man says.

"There's a dead body here," Sam says.

The man throws two handcuffs on the floor. "Cuff yourselves to the radiator. Now."

"Where's your partner?" Dean asks as the man looks through the room.

"What department are you with?" Sam asks.

"Why don't you call this in?" Dean asks.

"I'm gonna call this in," the man snorts, "you don't go anywhere." He slams out of the room.

"That badge looks like he got it from a cereal box," Dean comments as he and Sam get out of the cuffs.

"That gun looked real enough though," Sam says.

"I don't think he's coming back," Dean says.

Sam has keys in his hand and unlocks the cuffs.

"Look at you, boy scout," Dean says.

Sam unlocks Dean's cuffs. "Let's go."

Sam and Dean walk into the lobby, past a man reading a newspaper - the hard-faced man who bumped into Sam earlier. They walk out out the front doors. In the distance, a police siren wails.

"So … someone killed Miele," Dean says.

"Yeah," Sam says. "Maybe Oliynyk got to him. If he does, he has the skull."

"So who's the fake cop?" Dean says.

"Salah?" Sam says.

"Maybe. He was lookin' for something. Salah's got no reason to whack Miele," Dean says. "There's too many players."

"It's worse than Chicago," Sam says.

They turn the corner to where the Impala is parked. Three men stand there, blocking the way to the car.

"Can I help you?" Dean asks.

"Mr. Salah wants to see you two," a man in a pale trenchcoat says. "And your car."

Sam and Dean look at each other.

"Fine, but I'm driving," Dean says.

The man gets in with Dean, with his gun out.

As the impala drives away, the hard-faced man from the Hotel watches.

Luxuriously-Appointed Room.

A man stroking a fluffy cat listens to opera music. Sam and Dean enter, guarded by the three men.

"Take a seat," the man says.

Sam and Dean sit on a gold gilded, red velvet upholstered Louis Vuitton two-person salon chair.

"Sam and Dean Winchester," the man says as he stands up. He walks over and talks to their backs, leaning over them threateningly. "You died six years ago."

"Look, it's uh, a long story-" Sam starts to say.

"I don't care. My point is that if you were to get whacked now, no one would … you get my point, right?" Salah rambles on confusedly.

"Right," Sam says.

"Good. I understand you made a deal with Oliynyk," Salah says.

"How do you know that?" Sam says.

"I keep an eye on my enemies," Salah says.

"Now, that was your first mistake, working for him," Salah shakes his finger at Sam. "Oliynyk … he's a farabutto … a scoundrel. He's got no, no reverence for these sacred artifacts. He's got no respect. Now me, I give these beautiful relics a home."

"They had a home before you had them stolen," Dean says.

Sam clears his throat.

Salah and his men laugh. "Now, why would you work for Oliynyk?"

"He has something we need," Sam says. "And the skull was our price, we had to pay for it."

"It's a devil's bargain," Salah says, brushing his nose. "So, I'm gonna tell you what you should know. I made a deal with Miele. I paid half for the skull up front, and agreed to give him the rest on delivery. Now he's dead, the skull's missing. You two are in the middle of this … I'll make you a proposition. You find my skull, and I'll give you a nice finder's fee, and your lives."

"Great, deal," Dean says.

"And, as they say at NASA, failure is not an option," Salah says.

 **Thompson Hotel.**

The hotel lobby swarms with police officers.

"Why are we here again?" Sam asks.

"The key to this thing is in that room," Dean says. "I can feel it."

They walk up the stairs to the room. Yellow tape and a police officer blocks the door.

Dean looks at a fire alarm and pulls it. "You stay here," he says. Dean keeps walking and pulls another fire alarm on the lobby level.

Meanwhile, the police officer leaves and Sam slips into the room.

Sam searches the room. "Really Dean, you can feel it," he makes a face. On the floor, beneath a mirrored cabinet with low shelves, he finds a piece of paper with numbers carefully written on it.

He looks up. The hard-faced man hits Sam on the head. Sam crumples to the floor.

Outside the Thompson Hotel, the hard-faced man leaves.

The fake police detective watches and follows.

Meanwhile, Dean enters the room. "Sammy?" he calls out. He checks Sam's pulse. "Sammy, wake up!"

Outside the hotel, we don't see the detective following the other man, just his shadow on the concrete wall as he draws his gun.

At the door of the hotel, Sam and Dean leave.

"You sure you're ok? How many fingers am I holding up?" Dean asks.

"I'm fine, knock it off," Sam says.

"You're taking a lot of hits lately," Dean says. "I know the Disney princess hair gives you some padding but-"

Sam staggers ahead at a jog. He sees the hard-faced man on the ground. "That's him."

"Alright, if he clocked you, who clocked him?" Dean asks.

The man sits on the ground, dabbing at his bleeding head with a napkin.

"Where's the piece of paper?" Sam asks.

"...I don't know. He took it," the man says.

"Who are you?" Dean asks.

"My name is Lucca Camilleri," the man says as Dean looks at his wallet.

"Father Lucca Camilleri," Dean says. He tosses the wallet to Sam.

"Why are you here?" Sam asks, looking at the foreign ID.

"I'm looking for a stolen artifact, of great historical and religious importance," the priest says.

"Let me guess, used to be some holy dude' brain basket," Dean says.

"The skull of St. Peter. It was stolen from a nunnery eight days ago. They asked me to get it back," Father Lucca says.

"Really," Sam says.

"The sisters have faith in me," Father Lucca says.

"So you were coming here to steal it back?" Sam scoffs.

"No, I was going to buy it. Thieves only understand one thing, money," the father says.

As Father Lucca speaks, Dean opens a briefcase, cracks it open. It's full of money.

"Hamrun is a small place, when Miele disappeared after the skull was stolen, we knew what he'd done. So I followed him here," Father Lucca says. "But someone had murdered him. I didn't know what to do. I kept watch on his room. When I saw you found something, I … I hit you and took it…. Please forgive me," Father Lucca says.

Sam nods.

"That relic means much to the sisters. It is their crown jewel. … I failed," Father Lucca says.

"Well, Father, the world's a messed up place. What are you gonna do about it?" Dean asks.

"Change it, of course," Father Lucca says.

"Yeah. Good luck with that," Dean says.

"It's not about luck, my son. It's effort and the will and the knowledge of doing it. We must work to create a strong, good community, a better world for everyone," Father Lucca says. "If good men and women do good things, with wisdom, the world can become better."

"We'll get the skull back for you," Sam says.

"Excuse me, Sam," Dean says.

They walk away a little bit.

"What the hell?" Dean says.

"We have to find the skull anyways," Sam says.

"Yeah and give it to Oliynyk," Dean says. "And get our fill up on Jesus juice."

"Or we get the skull back and arrange a meet and then-" Sam says.

"And then what, double-cross em?" Dean says.

"Why not? We have to double-cross one of 'em," Sam says.

"Look, I believe him, but we don't owe Friar Tuck anything. He hit you. And it'll make it harder to come out in one piece," Dean says.

"I understand and I forgive him," Sam says. "Let's go."

 **Impala.**

The impala roars along a dark, rainy street. "So, don't remember who jumped you?" Dean says.

"No," Father Lucca says. "But the numbers on the paper, E…"

Sam types it into his laptop.

"That's some memory," Dean says.

"It's a tracking number for a package sent from Valletta," Sam says.

"Yahtzee," Dean says.

 **UPS Store**

A man walks up to the counter. "Can I help you?"

"You can," the detective hands the paper with the tracking number to the clerk.

The detective walks out with a box.

Sam and Dean and Father Lucca watch from the Impala.

As the detective drives away, the Impala follows.

 **Seattle.**

A drone zooms over Seattle, heading to the docks. The fake detective's car pulls behind a one-story warehouse.

The Impala drives past and stops. "Why did he bring the relic here?" Father Lucca says.

Another car approaches. The driver gets out and opens the door for Ms. Astor.

Sam huffs.

Ms. Astor and the fake detective walk into the warehouse.

"Everything's on schedule?" she asks.

"Yes, even with the complications," the detective says.

"Complications are what I pay you for," she says.

"Maybe we should talk about a raise," the man says.

"No, we shouldn't," she says. "Mr. Salah, thank you so much for coming!"

Salah and one of his men are waiting inside. "When someone's screwing me, I like to look them in the eye."

"No one's screwing-" Astor starts to say.

"If not me, that wouldn't be here. I made a deal," Salah says, pointing at the box.

"With a dead man," Astor says.

"Oh, he wasn't dead at the time," Salah says.

"Times change," Astor says. "Mr. Miele was the competition..."

"So…" Salah says.

"I cornered the market," Astor says.

Oliynyk appears with another man.

"I know a deal's crap when it starts drawing flies," Salah says.

"There's a door there, for taking out trash," Oliynyk says.

"Now then," Astor clasps her hands. "Let's begin."

The fake detective opens the box. He takes out a velvet bag and unearths the skull.

 **Impala.**

"You're worried," Father Lucca says to Dean.

"He's my brother," Dean says.

"God will see us through," Father Lucca says.

"God's on a vacation," Dean says. "He ain't gonna be back 'til God knows when."

"I didn't mean that God would reach down and protect us. Only that all good things are things of God," Father Lucca says.

"And stupid ones," Dean says.

"Yes, those too," Father Lucca says.

Sounds through Dean's phone.

 **Warehouse.**

"Woah, woah!" Sam says.

Sam walks in carefully, holding Father Lucca's briefcase. One of Ms. Astor's agents walks behind him with a gun drawn.

"I'm here to buy," Sam says. He carefully and slowly opens the briefcase.

 **Impala.**

"Let's go," Dean says.

 **Warehouse.**

"Sam, so very very good to see you again," Ms. Astor says.

"He was working for me," Oliynik says.

"He was working for me," Salah says.

"I'm working for myself," Sam says.

"Oh well, I'm quite fond of Sam. And besides, money's money," Ms. Astor says. She takes out a notebook and pen and tears out a paper for Sam. She does the same for the others.

 **Warehouse.**

Meanwhile, Father Lucca approaches a guard. "Pardon me."

"Who the hell are-" the guard stars to say.

Dean chokes the guard.

 **Warehouse.**

"Each of you … think of the price … your very best price … and write it down on the paper," Ms. Astor says. "The one with the most zeroes wins. Agreed?"

The two crime lords give her disgruntled looks.

Sam pops open Father Lucca's trunk and counts the money.

Oliynyk looks at his phone and Salah scribbles on the paper.

Ms. Astor walks around, takes their pieces of paper, and comes back to Sam, who is looking in the trunk and scribbling on the paper. He hands her the paper.

"From Lurch, 634,000. The boss, 3 million. Zero, from Fats," the fake detective says.

"This is a joke," Salah says.

"I will buy the skull, but not from you. 1 million cash, kill her, and give the skull to me," Oliynyk says to the fake detective.

"I assure you, Mr. Cromarty has been working for me for years and…" Ms. Astor's speech is cut off by a gunshot. She falls.

Mr. Cromarty says, "Should have talked about the raise," he starts to shoot the other people.

Sam dodges to the side. One of Mr. Salah's thugs falls as Mr. Cromarty fires.

Another thug draws his gun and fires at Cromarty.

Sam draws his gun and ducks behind a shelf. Others take cover wherever they can in the workshop.

Outside the warehouse, Father Lucca prays and a choir sings over the gunfire.

Dean enters the room, firing both pistols in his hand.

Salah goes down, shot in the chest.

Father Lucca finishes his prayer and enters the warehouse.

A thug wings Cromarty in the arm.

Sam shoots the thug.

Cromarty runs, Father Lucca grapples with him. Dean shoots the remaining thugs as Olynyk cowers behind a shelf. Cromarty shoots Lucca.

"No!" Sam shouts as he shoots Cromarty in the chest.

"Hey," Dean crouches next to Lucca, and looks at the wound, just a little blood on the side. "Hey, just grazed you. A couple inches to the left and it'd be lights out."

Father Lucca gets up with help from Dean.

"Ahh," Oliynyk says, as he's cornered by Sam and then Dean and Father Lucca.

"The blood," Dean says.

"It doesn't exist," Oliynyk says.

"You told us-" Sam says angrily.

"What you wanted to hear. Who saves saints blood?" Oliynyk asks. "It's not popular."

Dean's fist smashes Oliynyk's face.

 **Warehouse.**

Police cars and ambulances roar up to the warehouse.

 **Airport.**

"You gonna be okay?" Sam asks.

"I'm sure. Grazie. Thank you," Father Lucca says.

"By the way, I was reading about you. What is an Apostolic Protonotary Supernumery?" Sam asks.

"Oh, that's just a title, an honorary name given by the Pope. It means nothing," Father Lucca says.

"The Pope," Dean says.

"Yes, he calls me his most holy man," Father Lucca says.

Sam and Dean look at each other.

 **Bunker. Map Room.**

"Well, one down, three to go," Dean says, looking at a glass vial with a piece of cloth with dried blood on it.

"Yeah," Sam says.

"What's on your mind?" Dean asks.

"I don't know, nothing, I mean, you know … You ever feel like we're doing nothing but playing defense?" Sam asks. "Bouncing from one apocalypse to another."

"Well, it's not exactly our choice there's Lucifer and Michael comin'," Dean says.

"I know that, and I'm not saying we don't do good, the people we help," Sam says. "But no matter what we do, there'll always be more people to save, more monsters to kill. You think we could ever change things, for the better? I mean, really change things? Not ... like the British Men of Letters..," Sam says.

"They had some good ideas and a whole lotta bad ones," Dean looks at Sam. "That's free will for you. Maybe you should start one up."

"Me?" Sam asks.

"Why not?" Dean says. "We're sittin' in a bunker with their books, and I trust you more'n I trust anyone else. We can pull Jody into it when she's not busy chasing down those monsters from the portal."

Sam grimaces.

"Better you than those Brits," Dean says.

"Maybe," Sam says.

 **The End.**

#Googled Ukrainian gangs and Mexican drug cartels in Seattle. Dialogue still a tiny bit wacko, but putting it out. Maybe things will change in the main Supernatural universe? Although, I'm still hoping the guys will be trapped in bizarro universes and meet wacky versions of themselves.


	14. Funeralia

Supernatural episode 19: Funeralia, in story form.

 **A Living Room.**

Slim hands open a spellbook on the coffee table. A woman recites words to a spell. A purple glow.

 **LaVeau Gallery**

Portland, OR

A rainy, gray afternoon outside a modernist building. Mellow music plays in the background. Inside there's a busy art opening where people stand around drinking cocktails and chatting.

Rowena takes a cocktail from the bar and turns around. She takes her cell phone from a ruggedly handsome man in a dark suit, and she carelessly scrolls the screen. Sam's texted her, telling her about Michael and Lucifer and asking for help.

"Oh the poor dear," Rowena smirks. "Texting again."

The phone vibrates. Sam is calling.

Rowena silences the phone and hands it to Bernard.

The song changes to a tango. "Bernard, it's my song," Rowena twitters. "Pardon me," she hands her purse to a woman in a gold dress, then twirls away. Rowena and Bernard break into a dance. The other people at the gala clear a space, some looking bemused, others appreciative. A few people start to clap.

The woman in the gold dress smiles at the couple, but then bursts into flames. Her corpse falls to the floor.

People scream.

Rowena looks unperturbed, "Oh, the poor dear, what could have happened? Bernard, help the lady would you," Bernard bends over the dead woman to take her pulse, and Rowena slips the purse under her arm.

 **SUPERNATURAL**

"Dean, look at this," Sam hands Dean a newspaper. The headline is Mysterious Death, with a blurred picture of the woman in the gold dress' charred corpse.

"Death by spontaneous combustion," Sam says.

"...Huh," Dean says, disinterestedly.

"That's it?" Sam says.

"We've got mom, Jack, Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel on our plate...," Dean says.

Sam folds the newspaper huffily.

"...Whatever this is...," Dean says.

"Is killing people," Sam says.

The Impala speeds down a road. Dean is driving and Sam has Castiel on speakerphone.

Castiel is standing near a bus stop.

Dean looks pained and grips the steering wheel.

"I have a thought regarding Rowena. Perhaps she has not returned your calls because she does not have cell phone reception," Castiel says.

"Cas, no, it doesn't work that way," Dean says.

"If she has AT&T, there are large dead zones in their coverage. She may be residing in one of them," Cas says.

"Not for days," Dean says.

"Listen, we'll be in Portland in an hour," Sam says. "We'll call you when we find out more."

"And give us a call," Dean says.

"Yes," Castiel says and hangs up.

Sam immediately dials Rowena.

Dean glances at him.

The call goes to voicemail. Rowena's voice says: "Leave a message dearie, and I'll ring you back as quick as wink."

"She's avoiding us," Dean says.

"Or maybe she does have bad cell reception," a woman in the back seat appears out of nowhere. "Powerful spells have that effect."

Sam stares at the woman.

"Jessica," Dean says, looking in the rearview mirror.

"Yes?" Jessica says.

Sam glances between Dean and Jessica.

"What are you doing here?" Dean says.

Jessica says. "I've been observing you and your brother."

"Why?" Sam says.

"Death's orders, since Dean broke through the Veil," Jessica says.

"Why now?" Sam asks.

"People in Portland are dying outside of their assigned times," Jessica says. "You sent Rowena a spell from the Black Grimoire to unbind her powers, and now she has become powerful enough to change Fate and the destinies of mankind. I've been ordered to offer my assistance as a resource."

Sam makes a face as Jessica speaks. Dean looks like he's going to say something, but Sam gives him a look. "What does your assistance … involve?" Sam asks.

Jessica says. "Three people besides Elizabeth Mahler have died." She disappears.

"Great," Dean says. "We could use a little more help," he says into the air. Nothing happens.

"Really?" Sam says.

"Yeah, really," Dean says.

"We can handle it," Sam says.

"Sure, we can handle it. A little more help could make it go faster," Dean says. "And what was that about giving Rowena a spell?"

Sam gives Dean a look. "She asked, it seemed harmless."

Dean scoffs, and steps on the accelerator.

 **Portland, OR**

"Oh, Bernard. I'm too sentimental. I didn't know this about myself," Rowena says. "But now, nothing can stop me from making things ... the way they should be…."

Bernard silently hands Rowena a cocktail glass as she speaks.

She takes a sip, saying, "Eleve." Her eyes glow purple.

 **Portland, OR**

 **LaVeau Gallery**

The Impala pull into a parking lot; the LaVeau Gallery is visible in the distance.

"So what have we got?" Dean asks.

"Mahler was a professor at OHSU, the only controversial thing I see is that he led a study for a pharmaceutical company accused of aggressive off-label marketing and failure to disclose safety information. Families of patients who committed suicide are suing the company, but no one's going after Mahler. Maybe someone wanted him dead."

"Yeah, maybe," Dean says.

Sam and Dean get out of the Impala wearing their fed suits.

They flash they badge at a police officer and walk into the art gallery. The burnt area is marked off with yellow tape.

Next to it, the concrete is rippled, and Sam looks at it.

Jessica appears.

"His name was Bart," she says.

Sam conceals his surprise and Dean looks on.

"A reaper … died here?" Sam asks in a quiet voice.

"Yes, Rowena killed him along with the victim," Jessica says.

Sam's phone rings. It's Rowena.

"Hello dearie," Rowena says. "I've noticed you're in town. Would you like to meet me?"

Sam and Dean look at each other.

"Sure," Sam says.

"Wonderful, meet me at the location I'll be texting you, in a half-hour. I'll be seein' you!" Rowena hangs up.

Sam and Dean look at each other.

 **Lounge**

Sam and Dean walk into a lounge. It's quiet in the middle of the day. Bernard is sitting at a bar, and Rowena is waiting at a table.

Sam and Dean sit down next to her.

"Sam … Dean …," Rowena says.

"Rowena, what is this?" Sam says.

"Once I got my powers back, I couldn't sit still and do nothing now, could I. Mahler deserved to die, his lied about the results on his study and people died, as good as killing them himself. The company got sued, but the people, they weren't punished at all for what they did," Rowena says. "I'm righting some wrongs."

"What about the reapers?" Sam asks.

"I need Death's attention," Rowena says.

"You know you could just talk to her," Dean says.

"She, interesting," Rowena says.

Sam gives Dean a look. "Why do you want Death's attention?"

"After Fergus died, I … had a strange reaction to it, I thought, this is my fault that he's the conniving little weasel he was… And I want him back, and Oscar," Rowena says. "And to do that, I need Death's attention."

"Well you've drawn her attention," Dean says. "And she's mad. You don't want her to be mad at you."

"Well, I'm not afraid of a little anger. And much as I enjoy our little conversations, you can't stop me," Rowena says.

"Well," Dean says.

Sam slips some handcuffs on Rowena, but the image flickers.

The real Rowena is sitting at the bar with Bernard. They flee and Sam and Dean follow.

Bernard hides at a T-intersection while Sam goes after Rowena. He confronts Dean.

Dean says, "Snap out of it."

"She's not controlling me. She's gorgeous, she's powerful, and she's paying me a small fortune." And he attacks Dean. They fight in front of the elevator. The doors open, revealing a man and a woman, who look at each other and then hit the door close button.

Jessica appears, watching the fight, but not interfering.

Meanwhile, Rowena runs out on to the street, followed by Sam. He sprints and grabs her, pressing his gun at her back.

"Rowena, I get why you're doing it, but you're messing with the machinery of the universe," Sam says. "Help us find Jack and he'll revive Fergus and Oscar. He's powerful enough to do it. Stop messing with Death."

"I won't stop Samuel. You'll have to shoot me, on this street full of witnesses. Oh I forgot, already a wanted man," Rowena says.

Sam hesitates.

Rowena's eyes glow purple. "Somnia."

Sam's vision blurs and he lies down on the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, Dean chokes out Bernard and runs out onto the street. Rowena and Sam are missing.

 **House, interior.**

Sam wakes up slowly, tied to a recliner. A sigil is drawn on his chest and purple light fades from his body.

"Oh Sam. Thank you again for that unbinding spell. Its no fun to be enslaved. But my freedom's given me clarity. It's shown me everythin' I've worked for, everythin' I've done has ruined what I care about the most, my family, Oscar, my son," Rowena says. "I'm a flawed, petty, evil creature, Samuel. I don't know if I can be redeemed, but I must try. I'm sorry. Death must grant me an audience."

Rowena calmly takes out a knife. She cuts her hand, puts the knife down, and takes out a vial.

"What are you doing?" Sam asks. "What is that?"

Rowena drips something on the cut. "You don't wanna know."

"Rowena, don't do this! You've changed, please," Sam says.

"What wouldn't you do for your family! What haven't you done!" Rowena says. She slams the cut hand on Sam's chest and crackling purple light crawls over him.

Sam screams and passes out. Blood boils from his mouth and drips on the floor.

With a wave of her hand, Rowena directs the flow fo the blood, so it forms a circle and symbols on the floor.

"Hello Rowena," Billie says. She's appeared inside the circle.

"I know you," Rowena says.

"We met, when I was a reaper," Billie says calmly.

"We did, yes I remember. If we'd just exchanged numbers, none of this would have been necessary," Rowena says.

"You're upsetting the natural order. It's unwise," Billie says.

"Bring back my son and Oscar, and it all stops," Rowena says. "Say no, and the deaths of your reapers, are a shadow of will come," Rowena rests her hand on Sam's chest.

"I don't do blackmail, so go ahead," Billie says. "I'm curious to see what happens."

There's a pounding noise.

"What happened to me, those were my choices. But …." Rowena glances at Sam and then at Billie. Purple light glows from her hand. "Te in mea potestate defixi, nunc et in aeternum!"

A gold chain appears around Billie's wrists. Dean bursts through the front door, with his gun drawn.

"Sam!" Dean says.

Billie says, "You're late," to Dean. To Rowena, she says, "And you, discovered the new spell to bind Death. I'm impressed. Well, I'm bound." Billie raises her hands and snaps the chain. "Too bad it doesn't stick."

Rowena grimaces.

"See you soon," Billie says. She disappears.

Rowena takes her hand off Sam, and waves a hand at him. Sam gasps and opens his eyes.

"I was this close," Rowena says. "No hard feelings Sam."

Dean stands near Sam as Sam gets off the recliner. Sam dabs some blood off his face.

"Thanks, for not killing me," Sam says.

"Of course, my dearie," Rowena says. "Bernard does get enthusiastic," she looks at Dean. "I hope you left him unharmed."

"He'll live," Dean says.

"Well, what happened with Crowley, that wasn't your fault," Sam says. "We grow up and make our own choices."

"Well, thank you for the kind words Samuel. What were you sayin' earlier about Jack?" Rowena asks.

 **Playground to Heaven**

Castiel walks down the block and across the street to the Playground. A man sits on top of the play structure.

The angel looks down. "Castiel. What a surprise," but he doesn't sound surprised. He slides down the playground bars and lands with a lurch. "I suppose you're here to enter Heaven."

"Yes," Castiel looks suspiciously at the angel.

"Well, go ahead," the angel says. "Do what you came to do."

Castiel gives the angel a nod. "Very well." He steps onto the sandbox and it opens. He appears in Heaven with white walls and modern furniture. He looks around, looks curiously at the modern furniture, and walks down endless hallways. Distant howls of rage match the shaking of the walls.

A door appears. White light shines out.

Castiel walks forward and opens the door.

Naomi is seated at a desk.

"Naomi," Castiel says. "I thought you died."

She smirks. "Lucifer has taken the throne of Heaven. His presence corrodes these walls. As my last action under his rule, I sealed the souls away," Naomi says.

"The human heavens are..." Castiel says.

"No longer under his control," Naomi says. Her body flickers with light.

"You're filled to the brim with power," Castiel says.

"Yes, and when the power overwhelms me, my death will shatter Heaven, sending the souls into the Veil," Naomi says. "Find Gabriel and bring him to me."

#Idk. The line about the angels not wanting earth to be destroyed … and angels holding Heaven together, the writer totally forgot about the previous seasons with the apocalypse and angels fallinig from heaven and heaven not being about to fritz out. It's like the writer followed an AU in fan fiction and forgot the canon story. Naomi's more melodramatic. And it's a small thing, but the hair is wrong. It normally looks like Sam doesn't use any hair product. And Dean is the one who is finicky about his appearance, or he was many years ago in the first seasons. Naomi's hair was too stylish compared to before. Mostly the character actions and reactions did not make sense.

The elevator door timing was a little off, should have been hilarious.

The spells, the whole rationale for summoning death, climax .. wasn't that great. Really disappointed by this episode, even with the good moments.

Forgot to post this, wrote it a little bit ago.


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